important to learn to be surprised by simple things. One can take the questions presented hereas an example of this approach. The questions were proposed by undergraduate and graduatestudents, reorganized by us and presented to Noam Chomsky on occasion of his visit to theInstitute of Advanced Study in Pavia on September 15th, 2012. Simply and spontaneously, thequestions raised by the students clustered around a number of fundamental topics concerningthe architecture of the language faculty, its relation with other systems. Starting from themathematical properties of language, Chomsky answered students’ questions by discussingtheoretical and epistemological consequences of the research on the biological foundation oflanguage. He also posed new questions that such rational inquiry opens up and that can possiblyget an answer in a future. The call for simplicity is reflected in the content of the answers Chomskyprovided, and in the style as well. The discourse unfolds smoothly guiding the hearer – and thereader – through leading issues in the Chomskyan approach, from the foundation of the field(Chomsky 2004) to the ultimate synthesis (Chomsky 2011), across the milestones that made thescientific study of language possible in the modern era and still lucidly indicate where we should beheading to.
A conversation with Noam Chomsky: New insights on old foundations
Bambini V;Chesi C;Moro A
2012-01-01
Abstract
important to learn to be surprised by simple things. One can take the questions presented hereas an example of this approach. The questions were proposed by undergraduate and graduatestudents, reorganized by us and presented to Noam Chomsky on occasion of his visit to theInstitute of Advanced Study in Pavia on September 15th, 2012. Simply and spontaneously, thequestions raised by the students clustered around a number of fundamental topics concerningthe architecture of the language faculty, its relation with other systems. Starting from themathematical properties of language, Chomsky answered students’ questions by discussingtheoretical and epistemological consequences of the research on the biological foundation oflanguage. He also posed new questions that such rational inquiry opens up and that can possiblyget an answer in a future. The call for simplicity is reflected in the content of the answers Chomskyprovided, and in the style as well. The discourse unfolds smoothly guiding the hearer – and thereader – through leading issues in the Chomskyan approach, from the foundation of the field(Chomsky 2004) to the ultimate synthesis (Chomsky 2011), across the milestones that made thescientific study of language possible in the modern era and still lucidly indicate where we should beheading to.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
