Chomsky and his critics / edited by Louise M. Antony and Norbert Hornstein.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Antony, Louise M.

Hornstein, Norbert.

Series:

Philosophers and their critics ; 10.

Philosophers and their critics ; 10

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Chomsky, Noam.

Linguistics--Philosophy.

Linguistics.

Physical Description:

viii, 342 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Malden, MA : Blackwell Pub., 2003.

Summary:

In this compelling volume, ten distinguished thinkers - William G. Lycan, Jeffrey Poland, Galen Strawson, Frances Egan, Georges Rey, Peter Ludlow, Paul Horwich, Paul M. Pietroski, Alison Gopnik, and Ruth Garrett Millikan - address a variety of conceptual issues raised in Noam Chomsky's work on mind and language. Topics covered include: - -the ontological commitments inherent in a Chomskian approach to linguistic competence -the possibility of systematic referential semantics for natural language -whether we can learn anything about the foundations of language by adopting an evolutionary perspective -whether the 'theory theory' in developmental psychology counters Chomsky's arguments for nativism -the relevance and urgency of the mind-body problem in the post-Newtonian world. These analyses are followed by substantial responses from Chomsky himself. The result is a provocative and engaging discussion of Chomsky's work on questions of central importance to theories of mind and language.

Contents:

1 Chomsky on the Mind-Body Problem / William G. Lycan 11

2 Chomsky's Challenge to Physicalism / Jeffrey Poland 29

3 Real Materialism / Galen Strawson 49

4 Naturalistic Inquiry: Where does Mental Representation Fit in? / Frances Egan 89

5 Chomsky, Intentionality, and a CRTT / Georges Rey 105

6 Referential Semantics for I-languages? / Peter Ludlow 140

7 Meaning and its Place in the Language Faculty / Paul Horwich 162

8 Small Verbs, Complex Events: Analyticity without Synonymy / Paul M. Pietroski 179

9 In Defense of Public Language / Ruth Garrett Millikan 215

10 The Theory Theory as an Alternative to the Innateness Hypothesis / Alison Gopnik 238

11 Replies / Noam Chomsky

Reply to Lycan 255

Reply to Poland 263

Reply to Strawson 266

Reply to Egan 268

Reply to Rey 274

Reply to Ludlow 287

Reply to Horwich 295

Reply to Pietroski 304

Reply to Millikan 308

Reply to Gopnik 316.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [329]-332) and index.

ISBN:

0631200207

0631200215

OCLC:

50023100