318:
1969: "Professor
Chomsky may wish to cling to the term "Cartesian linguistics" for reasons not fully explicit in his book, although his remarks on the use of such a label suggest that he means simply 'rationalist linguistics.' But if he wishes to include under his label the Cartesian notion of language as species-specific to man, and the notion of underlying structures (which I argue is not Cartesian in origin), as well as the general rational approach, he can do no better than to use the term 'Port-Royal linguistics'."
158:, holding them up as researchers who were seeking a universal order and to show the tendency of Cartesian thinking to diffuse into different areas of academia. Humboldt's effort to reveal the organic form of language, like many of the cited experiments, is placed into the context of modern linguistics to show the differences between the Cartesian model of linguistics and the modern model of linguistics, and to illustrate the contributions of the former to the latter.
321:
Chomsky replied to his critics and defended the validity of his conception by further elaborating his historical perspective. The book was re-edited by James McGilvray in 2002 and 2009 with only minor changes and lengthy introductions. New reviews invariably point to previous criticism which had been
317:
One of the main objections to the book's argument bears on the point that, for his "Cartesian linguistics", Chomsky relies mostly on the Port-Royal grammar and not on
Descartes' writings. In fact, the grammar is not Cartesian in any interesting sense. The whole discussion was succinctly summarized in
112:
Chomsky writes, "one fundamental contribution of what we have been calling 'Cartesian linguistics' is the observation that human language, in its normal use, is free from the control of independently identifiable external stimuli or internal states and is not restricted to any practical communicative
227:
Chomsky bridges the past with the present by stating that from the standpoint of modern linguistic theory, the characterization and discovery of deep structures is absurd, in accordance with the present study and quantification of such things as "linguistic fact" and "sound-meaning correspondences".
184:
Deep structures vary less between languages than surface structures. For instance, the transformational operations yielding surface forms of Latin and French may obscure common features of their deep structures. Chomsky proposes, "In many respects, it seems to me quite accurate, then, to regard the
75:
is that the general features of grammatical structure are common to all languages and reflect certain fundamental properties of the mind. The book was written with the purpose of deepening "our understanding of the nature of language and the mental processes and structures that underlie its use and
231:
Descartes' idea of language is that it is a form of self-expression, not merely communication…Modern linguistics hasn't dealt with, or rather hasn't fully acknowledged, problems raised by
Cartesian philosophy. They have been glossed over as unnecessary problems of a generally well-accepted theory.
301:
The book was "widely and rightly judged to be a radical failure" which failed to claim a place for
Chomsky among the classics of philosophy. Chomsky was accused of interpreting philosophical sources and using their terminology in a misleading way. Historians and philosophers argued that Chomsky's
269:
423-424) A common idea/perception was that an object/idea could be stamped upon the soul upon the occasion of an idea excited from the comprehensive power of the intellect itself. Only
Humboldt, who was a living connection between the rationalist Enlightenment and the Romantic period, devised the
248:
These refer to the "inborn capacitiies" or a certain "natural instinct" that "instructs us in the nature, manner, and scope of what is to be heard, hoped for, or desired" (Cherbury). These latent notions are only activated through an outside stimulus. Chomsky asserts that this focus on innate and
128:
undertones permeate
Cartesian theory. One example of this is the idea that freedom from instinct and from stimulus control is the basis for what we call "human reason". Weakness of instinct is man's natural advantage, that which makes him a rational being. "From this conception of language, it is
261:
With this said, "language acquisition is a matter of growth and maturation of relatively fixed capacities, under appropriate external conditions". The 17th century's amenable approach to language learning was very non-conforming, as the overall perception was that knowledge arose on the basis of
177:"Pursuing the fundamental distinction between body and mind, Cartesian linguistics characteristically assumes that language has two aspects", namely, the sound/character of a linguistic sign and its significance. Semantic and phonetic interpretation may not be identical in Cartesian linguistics.
83:
Chomsky's book received mostly unfavorable reviews. Critics argued that "Cartesian linguistics" fails both as a methodological conception and as a historical phenomenon. These argue that
Chomsky makes false interpretations of classical philosophy, and that, despite his claims, his idea does not
235:
Another aspect of
Cartesian linguistics is the "necessity for supplementing descriptive statements with a rational explanation", in order to qualify as a true science. Chomsky claims that an excessive rationality and priorism were common to the Enlightenment period and that a great, underlying
262:
scattered, inadequate data. Properties conducive to what is learned were attributed to the mind. Theories of perception and learning were essentially the same, though it was an acknowledged difference that would consequently become indistinct during acquisition.
270:
underlying generative system of language perception. Again, Chomsky asserts that "contemporary research in perception has returned to the investigation of internally represented schemata...". The current work of modern linguistics continues the tradition of
17:
209:
as an example of
Cartesian linguistic philosophy. "A sentence has an inner mental aspect (a deep structure that conveys its meaning) and an outer, physical aspect as a sound sequence." Chomsky claims that Port Royal linguists developed a theory of
133:
creativity". In other words, "the 'poetical' quality of ordinary language derives from its independence of immediate stimulation and its freedom from practical ends", essentially subject matter that correlates with
Cartesian philosophy.
214:
that meets the formal requirements of language theory. Chomsky describes it in modern terms as "a base system that generates deep structures and a transformational system that maps these into surface structures", essentially a form of
289:
while he was a fellow of the American Council of Learned Societies; thereafter a great deal of subject matter was presented at the Christian Gauss seminars at Princeton University in 1965. Since the publication of
113:
function, in contrast, for example, to the pseudo-language of animals". "In short, animal 'language' remains completely within the bounds of mechanical explanation as this was conceived by Descartes and
104:
Certain mechanical factors of language function, such as response to stimuli, are evident in both humans and animals; however, Chomsky cites several 17th-century Cartesian experiments that show that the
1014:
80:". Chomsky wished to shed light on these underlying structures of the human language, and subsequently whether one can infer the nature of an organism from its language.
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46:, a prominent 17th-century philosopher. As well as Descartes, Chomsky surveys other examples of rationalist thought in 17th-century linguistics, in particular the
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294:, Chomsky's history has been criticized as an artificial predecessor to his own ideas, mainly formulated in the context of 1950s
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169:" of which Humboldt wrote. Also Humboldtian is the idea that the forces generating language and thought are one and the same.
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aspect of language is specific only to human beings. This is, in essence, the Cartesian theory of language production.
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linguistics, along with the requisite of an external stimulus for activation of the doctrine's latent function.
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are often only represented in the mind (a mirror of thought), as opposed to surface structures, which are not.
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hypothesis as to the general nature of language is missing in the Cartesian analysis of deep structure.
593:; (2009) Third Edition, edited with a new introduction by James McGilvray, Cambridge University Press,
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In any case, traditional attempts to deal with deep and surface structure theory were unsuccessful.
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165:, a Chomskyan approach, which is one finite, ubiquitous aspect of language that provides the "
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342:, in Cartesian Studies, edited by R. J. Butler (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1972), pp. 137–145.
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because he is merely referring to its concept of innate ideas. Since Chomsky's version of
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only a short step to the association of the creative aspect of language use with true
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486:. In D. A. Kibbee (Ed.), Chomskyan (R)evolutions (pp. 377-394). New York: Benjamins.
277:
Chomsky formulates fundamental conclusions of Cartesian linguistics in his studies.
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left unanswered, suggesting that the introductory essays also failed to convince.
606:
From Locke to Saussure: Essays on the Study of Language and Intellectual History
307:
249:
psychological doctrine as a precursor to experience and knowledge is typical of
85:
68:
545:
125:
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265:"Thus prior knowledge and set play a large role in determining what we see" (
117:" and the creative aspect of language is what separates humans and animals.
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lacks a concept of innate ideas, it does not have a place in rationalism.
519:
579:
Cartesian Linguistics: A Chapter in the History of Rationalist Thought
385:
59:
Chomsky traces the development of linguistic theory from Descartes to
39:
Cartesian Linguistics: A Chapter in the History of Rationalist Thought
151:
511:
496:
Miel, Jan (1969). "Pascal, Port-Royal, and Cartesian Linguistics".
377:
15:
561:, Metapsychology Online Reviews, vol.13 iss. 36 (sept 1.st 2009)
633:
629:
622:
Miel, Jan. "Pascal, Port-Royal, and Cartesian Linguistics",
362:(1969). "The History of Linguistics and Professor Chomsky".
52:(1660), which foreshadows some of his own ideas concerning
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870:
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1260:Distorted Morality – America's War on Terror?
1230:Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media
71:. According to Chomsky, the central doctrine of
859:New Horizons in the Study of Language and Mind
42:(1966). The adjective "Cartesian" pertains to
645:
445:
443:
412:Hamans, Camiel; Seuren, Pieter A. M. (2010).
340:On the Non-Existence of Cartesian Linguistics
8:
1165:Chomsky's Universal Grammar: An Introduction
1250:Power and Terror: Noam Chomsky in Our Times
482:Hamans, C., & Seuren, P. A. M. (2010).
819:The Logical Structure of Linguistic Theory
718:
652:
638:
630:
1280:Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land
274:linguistics in transformational grammar.
975:The Prosperous Few and the Restless Many
626:, Vol. 30, April 1969, pp. 261–271.
240:"Common notions" (Herbert of Cherbury's
331:
161:Another aspect of this universality is
306:theory of language does not represent
285:Chomsky accomplished his research for
688:Colorless green ideas sleep furiously
7:
889:American Power and the New Mandarins
420:. John Benjamins. pp. 377–394.
173:Deep structure vs. surface structure
1270:Noam Chomsky: Rebel Without a Pause
995:Objectivity and Liberal Scholarship
880:The Responsibility of Intellectuals
741:Current Issues in Linguistic Theory
456:Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
239:
187:transformational generative grammar
1201:The Cambridge Companion to Chomsky
829:Lectures on Government and Binding
14:
414:"Chomsky in search of a pedigree"
1183:Noam Chomsky: A Life of Dissent
1096:9-11: Was There An Alternative?
751:Aspects of the Theory of Syntax
624:Journal of the History of Ideas
540:Sharbani, B. (2003). Review of
499:Journal of the History of Ideas
484:Chomsky in search of a pedigree
416:. In Kibbee, Douglas A. (ed.).
1025:Requiem for the American Dream
909:Counter-Revolutionary Violence
581:. New York: Harper & Row.
142:Chomsky parallels theories of
63:, that is, from the period of
1:
1290:Is the Man Who Is Tall Happy?
800:Conditions on Transformations
548:(accessed on August 14, 2009)
454:. In Zalta, Edward N. (ed.).
257:Approach to language learning
197:Summary of Port Royal Grammar
781:The Sound Pattern of English
452:"Rationalism vs. Empiricism"
212:deep and surface structures
84:represent the tradition of
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1397:Books about René Descartes
281:Reception and developments
791:Remarks on Nominalization
667:
296:psychological behaviorism
219:akin to modern theories.
1325:Valeria Wasserman (wife)
985:World Orders Old and New
217:transformational grammar
1350:Chomsky–Foucault debate
1192:The Anti-Chomsky Reader
809:Reflections on Language
604:Aarsleff, Hans (1982).
458:. Stanford University.
418:Chomskyan (R)evolutions
1392:History of linguistics
1387:Harper & Row books
1382:1966 non-fiction books
965:Letters from Lexington
849:The Minimalist Program
577:Chomsky, Noam (1966).
450:Markie, Peter (2017).
86:rationalist philosophy
25:
1210:The Kingdom of Speech
1056:Middle East Illusions
932:Manufacturing Consent
839:Knowledge of Language
761:Cartesian Linguistics
559:Cartesian Linguistics
546:LINGUIST List 14.2061
542:Cartesian Linguistics
292:Cartesian Linguistics
287:Cartesian Linguistics
207:Cartesian Linguistics
121:Freedom from instinct
94:Cartesian Linguistics
73:Cartesian Linguistics
30:Cartesian linguistics
20:First edition (publ.
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1372:Theories of language
1005:Hegemony or Survival
922:The Fateful Triangle
899:For Reasons of State
731:Syntactic Structures
557:Behme C., Review of
205:is heavily cited in
61:Wilhelm von Humboldt
955:Deterring Democracy
945:Necessary Illusions
703:Political positions
608:. London: Athlone.
1066:Imperial Ambitions
203:Port Royal Grammar
163:generative grammar
92:Themes covered in
49:Port-Royal Grammar
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1106:Making the Future
771:Language and Mind
680:Chomsky hierarchy
599:978-0-521-70817-3
312:Universal grammar
65:the Enlightenment
54:universal grammar
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