Rules and Representations (Columbia Classics in Philosophy)

Description

In this influential and controversial work Chomsky draws on philosophy, biology, and the study of the mind to consider the nature of human cognitive capacities, particularly as they are expressed in language. He arrives at his well-known position that there is a universal grammar, genetically determined, structured in the human mind, and common to all human languages. Aside from his examination of the various principles of the universal grammar -- its "rules and representations" -- Chomsky considers the biological basis of language capabilities and the possibility of studying mental structures and capacities in the manner of the natural sciences. Finally, he also explores whether there may be similar "grammars" of perception, art, human nature, scientific reasoning, and the unconscious. -- Publisher description.

First Sentence

IN THESE LECTURES, I would like to explore a number of issues relating to human cognitive capacities and the mental structures that serve as the vehicles for the exercise of these capacities.

Subjects

Other Editions

• Rules and Representations (Columbia Classics in Philosophy)PaperbackColumbia University Press2005-06-30
• Rules and representationsColumbia University Press1980-01-01
• Rules and representationsB. Blackwell1980-01-01
• Rules and representationsColumbia University Press1980-01-01
• Regeln und RepräsentationenPaperbackSuhrkamp Verlag1981-01-01
• Rules and RepresentationsColumbia University Press1982-01-01