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Chargement... Noam Chomsky: A Life of Dissent (édition 1997)par Robert F. Barsky (Auteur)
Information sur l'oeuvreNoam Chomsky, une voix discordante par Robert F. Barsky
   Aucun Actuellement, il n'y a pas de discussions au sujet de ce livre.  dmac7 | Jun 14, 2013 |  aucune critique | ajouter une critique
This biography describes the intellectual and political milieus that helped shape Noam Chomsky, a pivotal figure in contemporary linguistics, politics, cognitive psychology, and philosophy. It also presents an engaging political history of the last several decades, including such events as the Spanish Civil War, the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the march on the Pentagon to protest the Vietnam War. The book highlights Chomsky's views on the uses and misuses of the university as an institution, his assessment of useful political engagement, and his doubts about postmodernism. Because Chomsky is given ample space to articulate his views on many of the major issues relating to his work, both linguistic and political, this book reads like the autobiography that Chomsky says he will never write. Barsky's account reveals the remarkable consistency in Chomsky's interests and principles over the course of his life. The book contains well-placed excerpts from Chomsky's published writings and unpublished correspondence, including the author's own years-long correspondence with Chomsky. *Not for sale in Canada Aucune description trouvée dans une bibliothèque |
Discussion en coursAucunCouvertures populaires
 Google Books — Chargement...GenresClassification décimale de Melvil (CDD)410.92Language Linguistics Linguistics Biography And History BiographyClassification de la Bibliothèque du CongrèsÉvaluationMoyenne: (3.81)
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He unabashedly believes in what he calls "human nature," rejecting the still very influential Lockean "blank slate" idea of the malleability of the human mind/brain. At the same time his political writing and activism are all based on an assumption that external constraints on human expression/behavior are not desirable because they're usually unnecessary. Freed of the coercive psychological, intellectual, and material/physical constraints imposed on the many by a few in our society, human beings have demonstrated a capacity to organize themselves in more egalitarian ways, such as in the Spanish Civil War and in communal kibbutzim like the one Chomsky and his wife lived in for a brief time in the 1950s.
The influences on the development of his linguistics are also thoroughly documented. I found these explanations interesting, if not completely comprehensible for someone without even a rudimentary knowledge of that discipline. The logic behind his position is pretty clear though: kids learn language at about the same age, with the same level of skill, everywhere in the world, so this uniformity requires some kind of generalizing explanation.
The energy and dedication Chomsky has put into his intellectual and political lives--and to keeping them distinct from one another--is impressive, and his humility and desire to make the world a better place are traits I consider worth cultivating. As I'm suggesting there is little to no significant criticism of Chomsky here, a lack which is surprising for an academic writer, but I'm not sure that's a fault in this case. (