PHILOSOPHY OPEN ELECTIVE 

NAOM CHOMSKY 
A CASE STUDY 
 

Introduction 

Ever wondered how sometimes you see a sentence, and you know it's wrong? You may not 
know what is incorrect, but it just doesn't sit right with you. And the reason behind this is 
the fact that you are born with the knowledge of essential elements of your native 
language. This theory came into prominence in the 1960s, thanks to a certain American 
linguist and philosopher, Naom Chomsky. Ever wondered how sometimes you see a 
sentence, and you know it's wrong? You may not know what is incorrect, but it just doesn't 

 
 
 
sit right with you. And the reason behind this is the fact that you are born with the 
knowledge of essential elements of your native language. This theory came into 
prominence in the 1960s, thanks to a certain American linguist and philosopher, Naom 
Chomsky. 

Philosophy 
Noam Chomsky, one of the most famous linguists and public figures of the past few 
decades, based his linguistic works on several philosophical doctrines. His main 
contribution to linguistics is Transformational Generative Grammar, which has its roots in 
the mentalist philosophy. His views contradict the behaviorist psychology and lie more in 
favor of innatism for explaining the acquisition of language. He asserts that the human 
brain is biologically programmed to learn a language, so language faculty is innate. For him, 
the mind works during the course of learning a language.  

Chomsky dealt a serious blow to behaviorism, after which stimulus-response theory of 
language learning was abandoned, giving a boost to cognitive psychology. This paradigm 
shift in the history of linguistics is recognized as Chomskyan Revolution. Chomsky’s 
particular kind of philosophy is also known as Chomskyan Hierarchy.  

Chomsky’s Rationalism 

As a linguist, Noam Chomsky adheres to rationalism, and strongly opposes empiricism. His 
rationalistic ideology is written all over his philosophy of language, which claims that 
rationality is a property of mind and is, therefore, the primary source of knowledge or way 
to knowledge. Inspirations from various philosophers such as Plato, Rene Descartes, 
Baruch Spinoza, Gottfried Leibniz, and Immanuel Kant are distinctly visible in his work. His 
theory is related to rationalist ideas of a priori knowledge, manifested in innatism and 
nativism. 

As a self-proclaimed Cartesian, Chomsky, in his text Cartesian Linguistics (1966), embraces 

the interpretation of Descartes’ famous dictum ‘I think therefore I am’ (cogito ergo sum) as 
the very foundation of all knowledge. Keeping the views of Descartes in mind, he refers to 
language as a certain mental state. Chomsky was also influenced by Kantian epistemology, 
which sought a synthesis of empiricism and rationalism. 

 
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All his theories are in stark contrast to empiricism which states that the brain is a tabula 
rasa, empty, unstructured. Given his segregation of language as a system of knowledge 
Chomsky is rightly regarded as an heir to the rationalist tradition in the philosophy of 
language and mind. 

Analytic Philosophy 

Chomsky’s work comes under the branch of analytic philosophy, where logic and language 
are central to theorization. Chomsky makes use of logic and mathematics in his linguistic 
analysis, yielding a distinct formal language. 

Chomsky holds a prominent position among analytic philosophers. His place has been 
cemented due to three factors. First, he contributed majorly to a substantial 
methodological shift in the human sciences, turning away from the prevailing empiricism of 
the mid-twentieth century: behaviorism in psychology, structuralism in linguistics, and 
positivism in philosophy. The next being his outstanding book Aspects of the Theory of 
Syntax (1965), laid a new foundation and provided with a new framework for exploring 
human language and mind. Last but not least, he has persistently defended his views, 
engaging in meaningful debates with the significant figures in analytic and critical 
philosophy, including but not limited to Tyler Burge, Donald Davidson, Saul Kripke. This 
debate literature is evidence of his intellectualism. 

Essentialism 

Noam Chomsky has been called the intellectual ancestor of linguistic essentialism, which 
aims to identify the intrinsic properties of language per se. Linguistic essentialism is 
interested in postulating universals of human linguistic structures, unlearned but tacitly 
known, that permit and assist children to acquire human languages.  

 
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Conclusion 
There’s no doubt that Chomsky has played a huge role in the shift from empiricism and has 
provided groundbreaking results in the philosophy of human language. This also helps get 
a better understanding of the human mind. One of the most cited scholars alive, Chomsky, 
has influenced a broad array of academic fields. He is widely recognized as having helped 
to spark the cognitive revolution in the human sciences, contributing to the development of 
a new cognitivistic framework for the study of language and the mind. In addition to his 
continued scholarship, he remains a leading critic of U.S. foreign policy, neoliberalism and 
contemporary state capitalism, the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, and mainstream news 
media. His ideas have proven highly influential in the anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist 
movements, but have also drawn criticism, with some accusing Chomsky of 
anti-Americanism. His outspoken political opinions have also gained him a significant 
number of followers and enemies as well. All in all, Naom Chomsky is a soft revolution. 

Abstract 

Noam Chomsky, one of the most famous linguists of the twentieth century, based his 
linguistic works on certain philosophical doctrines. His main contribution to linguistics is 
Transformational Generative Grammar, which is founded on mentalist philosophy. He 
opposes the behaviorist psychology in favor of innatism for explaining the acquisition of 
language. He claims that it becomes possible for a human child to learn a language for the 
linguistic faculty with which the child is born and that the use of language for an adult is 
mostly a mental exercise. His ideas brought about a revolution in linguistics, dubbed as 
Chomskyan Revolution. According to him, the part of language which is innate to a human 
being would be called Universal Grammar. He would also be identified as an essentialist 
and a rationalist. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND SOURCES IN THE NEXT PAGE 

SUBMITTED BY: AR Praneeth (170929074) ; Roll No.: 34 

 
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BIBLIOGRAPHY 

1)The Linguistic Philosophy of Naom Chomsky- Binoy Barman, Philosophy and Progress: 
Vols. LI-LII, January-June, July-December, 2012. 

SOURCES 

1)​https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noam_Chomsky 

2)​https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2003/03/31/the-devils-accountant 

3)​https://www.medicaldaily.com/noam-chomskys-theory-universal-grammar-right-its-hard
wired-our-brains-364236 

4)​https://chomsky.info​/ 

 
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