TheCambridgeCompaniontoChomsky NoamChomskyisoneofthemostinfluentialthinkersofmoderntimes.The mostcitedwriterinthehumanities,hisworkhasrevolutionizedthefieldof linguistics,andhasdominatedmanyotherdisciplinesincludingpoliticsand thephilosophyofmindandhumannature.Hehasalsocontributedsignificantly toourunderstandingoftheabuseofpower,andofthecontrollingeffectsof themassmedia. Thiscompanionbringstogetherateamofleadinglinguists,philosophers, cognitivescientists,andpoliticaltheoriststoconsolidatethedisparatestrands ofChomsky’sthoughtintooneaccessiblevolume.Througharangeofchap- tersfocusingonthevariousaspectsofhiswork,theyintroduceinaclearand non-technicalwaythecentralthemesofhisextraordinaryeffectonourunder- standingoflanguage,mind,andtheabuseofpoliticalpower,andprovidean engaging insight into the connections between Chomsky’s work in each of theseareas. Comprehensive and informative, this is an essential guide to one of the leadingintellectualfiguresofourtime. james mcgilvray is Associate Professor of Philosophy at McGill Uni- versity.HispreviouspublicationsincludeChomsky(1999),Tense,Reference, andWorldmaking(1991),andSocialandPoliticalPhilosophy(co-editedwith CharlesKing,1973).Hehasalsowrittenforavarietyofjournalsincluding Synthese,Nous,CanadianJournalofPhilosophy,MindandLanguage,and PhilosophicalStudies. Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2007 Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2007 The Cambridge Companion to Chomsky Editedby JamesMcGilvray McGillUniversity Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2007 publishedbythepresssyndicateoftheuniversityofcambridge ThePittBuilding,TrumpingtonStreet,Cambridge,UnitedKingdom cambridgeuniversitypress TheEdinburghBuilding,Cambridge,CB22RU,UK 40West20thStreet,NewYork,NY10011–4211,USA 477WilliamstownRoad,PortMelbourne,VIC3207,Australia RuizdeAlarco´n13,28014Madrid,Spain DockHouse,TheWaterfront,CapeTown8001,SouthAfrica http://www.cambridge.org (cid:1)C CambridgeUniversityPress2005 Thisbookisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements, noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithout thewrittenpermissionofCambridgeUniversityPress. Firstpublished2005 Reprinted2005 PrintedintheUnitedKingdomattheUniversityPress,Cambridge TypefaceTimes10/12pt. SystemLATEX2ε [tb] AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary LibraryofCongressCataloguinginPublicationdata TheCambridgecompaniontoChomsky/editedbyJamesMcGilvray. p. cm. ISBN0521780136(hardback)–ISBN052178431X(paperback) 1.Chomsky,Noam. I.McGilvray,JamesA.(JamesAlasdair),1942– P85.C47C36 2005 410(cid:2).92–dc22 2004051104 ISBN0521780136hardback ISBN052178431Xpaperback ThepublisherhasuseditsbestendeavorstoensurethattheURLsforexternal websitesarecorrectandactiveatthetimeofgoingtopress.However,thepublisher hasnoresponsibilityforthewebsitesandcanmakenoguaranteethatasitewill remainliveorthatthecontentisorwillremainappropriate. Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2007 Contents Thecontributors page vii Introduction 1 james mcgilvray PartI Chomskyonthehumanlanguage 1 Chomsky’sscienceoflanguage 21 neil smith 2 Plato’sProblem,UG,andthelanguageorgan 42 david lightfoot 3 Grammar,levels,andbiology 60 howard lasnik 4 Howthebrainbegetslanguage 84 laura-ann petitto 5 ChomskyandHalle’srevolutioninphonology 102 b. elan dresher 6 Universalaspectsofwordlearning 123 lila gleitman and cynthia fisher PartII Chomskyonthehumanmind 7 Empiricismandrationalismasresearchstrategies 145 norbert hornstein 8 Innateideas 164 paul pietroski and stephen crain 9 Mind,language,andthelimitsofinquiry 181 akeel bilgrami and carol rovane v Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2007 vi Contents 10 Meaningandcreativity 204 james mcgilvray PartIII Chomskyonvaluesandpolitics 11 Marketvaluesandlibertariansocialistvalues 225 milan rai 12 Theindividual,thestate,andthecorporation 240 james wilson 13 NoamChomsky:thestrugglecontinues 260 irene gendzier 14 Theresponsibilityoftheintellectual 280 jean bricmont Notes 295 References 313 Index 331 Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2007 The contributors akeel bilgrami is Johnsonian Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University. He specializes in the philosophies of mind and language. His Self-KnowledgeandIntentionalityandTheMoralPsychologyofIdentityare forthcoming. jean bricmont isProfessorofTheoreticalPhysicsattheCatholicUniver- sity of Louvain. He co-authored with Alan Sokal the volume Fashionable Nonsense.Heoftenwritesandspeaksonpoliticaltopics. stephen crain is Professor of Linguistics at the University of Maryland, College Park. He is primarily interested in issues of child language development – especially, recently, in children’s acquisition of semantic knowledge. He is co-author with Rozz Thornton of Investigations in Uni- versalGrammar. b. elan dresher isProfessorofLinguisticsattheUniversityofToronto. Hehaswrittenmanyarticlesonphonology.Amonghisinterestsisthehistory ofphonologicaltheory. cynthia fisher isanAssociateProfessorintheDepartmentofPsychology and Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her research focuses on child language acquisition, both words and linguistic structures. irene gendzier isProfessorofPoliticalScienceatBostonUniversity.She worksonissuesofpoliticaleconomyandinternationalpoliticaldevelopment, comparative politics, and the politics of the Middle East. She is the author ofNotesFromtheMinefield:UnitedStatesInterventioninLebanonandthe MiddleEast,1945–1958andDevelopmentAgainstDemocracy. lila gleitman isStevenandMarciaRothProfessorintheDepartmentof Psychology and Professor in the Department of Linguistics at the Univer- sityofPennsylvania.Shefocusesonlinguisticstructure(morphologicaland syntactic) and the acquisition of language (sounds, structures, and words). She is the editor of Invitation to Cognitive Science, vol. I, Language and, vii Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2007 viii Thecontributors withBarbaraLandau,authorofLanguageandExperience:EvidenceFrom theBlindChild. norbert hornstein isProfessorofLinguisticsattheUniversityofMary- land. His research currently focuses on issues of Chomsky’s minimalist approach to syntactic structure. He recently edited (with Louise Anthony) thevolumeChomskyandHisCriticsandistheauthorofMove!AMinimalist TheoryofConstrual. howard lasnik is Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor Emeritus, UniversityofConnecticut,andDistinguishedUniversityProfessor,Univer- sityofMaryland.Hehasco-authoredseveralworksinlinguisticswithNoam Chomskyandisthesoleauthorofseveralbooks,includingtherecentMini- malistInvestigationsinLinguisticTheory. david lightfoot is Professor of Linguistics and Dean of the Graduate SchoolofArtsandSciencesatGeorgetownUniversity.Hisprimaryresearch interestsareinlanguageacquisition,languagechange,andsyntactictheory; heistheauthorofeightbooks,includingSyntacticEffectsofMorphological Changeand,withS.Anderson,TheLanguageOrgan. james mcgilvray isAssociateProfessorofPhilosophyatMcGillUniver- sity.Hefocusesonthenaturesoflanguageandmind,withparticularatten- tiontoChomsky’scontributiontotheseareas;heistheauthorofChomsky: Language,Mind,andPolitics. laura-ann petitto is Professor of Psychology and Chairman of the DepartmentofEducationatDartmouthCollege.Sheistheauthorofmany articlesonlanguageacquisitionanddevelopmentinchildren,especiallybilin- gualsandusersofsign. paul pietroski isProfessorofPhilosophyandProfessorofLinguisticsat the University of Maryland College Park. He is currently interested in the waysinwhichlinguisticstructurecontributestolinguisticmeanings.Heis the author of Causing Actions and the forthcoming Events and Semantic Architecture. milan rai isajournalistandpoliticalactivistwholivesinEastSussex,UK. HeistheauthorofChomsky’sPoliticsand,withChomsky,ofWarPlanIraq: TenReasonsAgainstWaronIraq.Herecentlypublished RegimeUnchanged: WhytheWarinIraqChangedNothing. carol rovane isDirectorofGraduateStudiesandProfessorofPhilosophy atColumbiaUniversity.Shehasaspecialinterestinthehistoryofphiloso- phiesofmind,focusingonDescartes,Kant,andthepragmatists.Sheisthe authorofTheBoundsofAgency:AnEssayinRevisionaryMetaphysics. Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2007 Thecontributors ix neil smith is Professor and Head of Linguistics at University College London.Hefocusesonlanguageacquisitionandthegenerallinguistictheory, butespeciallyontheworkofNoamChomsky;heistheauthorofChomsky: IdeasandIdeals,and,recently,Language,Bananas,andBonobos:Linguistic Problems,Puzzles,andPolemics. james wilson is James A. Thomas Distinguished Professor of Law, Cleveland-Marshall College, Cleveland State University. He does research onimperialismandtheuseofpower,andonthepoliticalthoughtofNoam Chomsky.HeistheauthorofTheImperialRepublic:AStructuralHistoryof AmericanConstitutionalismFromtheColonialEratotheBeginningofthe TwentiethCentury. Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2007 Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2007