This work is elemental; it touches and hints at some fundamental thoughts at the pivot of our existence and it invites the reader to pursue detailed studies of linguistics, hermeneutics, ethics, and metaphysics. Chomsky often speaks the mind of the readers.

It's always spring in Mr. Chomsky's garden. Like John Ashbery, Noam Chomsky seems to come up with thoughts that are always fresh, unaffected by the polluting clichés that most of us inhale and exhale all day and night. To read his sentences is a life-giving elixir.

Noam Chomsky launches this remarkable discussion with the age old question, "What kind of creatures are we?" Thus begins an extended inquiry into human cognition that takes him from the ancients to contemporary theorists of language and science, to politics. Chomsky's erudition is formidable, and I read his disquisition with pleasure and many "aha' moments. But what stands out for me is his wisdom; he accepts that being mere biological creatures, there is much that we can never know, and yet he is deeply empathetic with us, his fellow creatures who must struggle and try to impact our world, even though we ultimately cannot know.

A rewarding and challenging read.

Recommended.

Noam Chomsky is arguably the most influential thinker of our time, having made seminal contributions to linguistics and philosophy, as well as political and social thought. In one succinct and powerfully argued volume, he presents a synthesis of his key ideas.

Chomsky's writings invariably reflect the force of intellect and cogency of thought that befits one of the greatest thinkers of our times—this work is no exception.

Differentiating between problems, which we can solve, and mysteries, which we cannot, Chomsky concludes that the relationship between brain and consciousness may well be a mystery. Still, we can explore.

This work is elemental; it touches and hints at some fundamental thoughts at the pivot of our existence and it invites the reader to pursue detailed studies of linguistics, hermeneutics, ethics, and metaphysics. Chomsky often speaks the mind of the readers.

01/01/2016
In a very short space, Chomsky (emeritus linguistics, Massachusetts Inst. of Technology) develops a well-defined political theory (centered on the question: "What is the common good?") seemingly from scratch. He does this by first defending a particular theory of language that will be identifiable by anyone familiar with Chomsky's work, namely that generative grammar-concepts frame language as a feature of our biology. Out of an understanding of language, the philosopher develops a new theory of meaning and understanding, with an emphasis on the evolutionary development of our cognitive capacities. Finally, since we have developed language and understanding as social creatures, Chomsky argues, we are in a position to comment on the distinctively dissonant social theory in America that is at once both libertarian in its ideals and socialist in its structure. VERDICT This small book offers an engaging if superficial introduction for readers interested in Chomsky's voluminous scholarship on the topics of linguistics and political theory. At the same time, readers familiar with Chomsky's work will find fresh ideas and criticisms based on recent discoveries about language and neuroscience.—Robert C. Robinson, CUNY

2015-09-03
Chomsky (Emeritus, Linguistics and Philosophy/MIT; Because We Say So, 2015, etc.) reflects broadly on the nature of language, the limits of human cognition, and our role as social creatures in furthering the common good. This book collects lectures delivered by the author at Columbia University, spanning the fields of theoretical linguistics, cognitive science, political philosophy, and more. In the first chapter, Chomsky proposes that, despite a general feeling to the contrary, language evolved primarily as an instrument of thought, and he labels its externalization in speech and sign language as ancillary. Reframing language as a part of our biology, much like the eye, the author touches on generative grammar concepts that he developed in the 1950s. Chomsky delves next into philosophy of mind, specifically "the new mysterianism," a philosophy that proposes the existence of "problems," questions human beings are able to solve, and "mysteries," the solutions to which lie outside the bounds of human cognition. He uncovers examples in scientific history, returning repeatedly to Isaac Newton's unwillingness to speculate on the specific nature of gravity, the mysterious force with which objects appear to act upon one another at a distance. Turning his attention to social matters, Chomsky indicts the systems that profess social truisms in theory but reject them in practice. He cites American participation in the repression, torture, and execution of political dissenters in Latin America during the late 20th century before locating the seeds of American plutocracy in the intentions of the Founding Fathers and ending this chapter with a discussion of libertarian ideals. The writing is academic in its tenor, referencing throughout the work of philosophical luminaries such as David Hume, John Locke, Joseph Priestley, and many more. As such, general readers may find the text opaque and the narrative flow disconnected. Comprising lectures on distinctly separate topics, this short volume skims the surface of the diversity and complexity of Chomsky's expertise.