Table of Contents

Preface vi

Introduction 1

1 Chomsky’s Contributions 7

2 The Mind and Its Sciences 26

3 Partitioning the Mind: Bad and Good Cognitive Science 52

4 Human Problem-Solving Capacities 69

5 The Science of Language 89

6 Linguistic Meanings and Their Uses 136

7 Chomsky on Politics: Some Basic Themes 158

8 Language and Politics: Justification 205

Glossary 234

Notes 238

Bibliography 245

Index 254

About the Author

James McGilvray is Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy at McGill University in Canada.

Reviews

"This is a remarkably comprehensive yet accessible introduction toChomsky's views about human nature, how to study it, and itsvarious manifestations in language and politics. McGilvray'sobvious enthusiasm for the subject is displayed in a text that isstunningly well researched, historically rich, empiricallyinformed, and philosophically engaged throughout." Paul Pietroski, University of Maryland "McGilvray has achieved something extraordinary with this compact,accessible and penetrating text. Not only does he insightfullyconnect Chomsky s voluminous contributions to current affairswith his equally voluminous work in generative grammar andphilosophy of mind and language, he also gets the complex synthesisexactly right. The result is a tour de force. From now on, his isthe book on Chomsky that I will direct my students to." Robert Stainton, University of Western Ontario "This text highlights Chomsky s exceptional contribution tothe science of language as a biological organ, to the naturalistictheory of mind, and to the view of political systems as means tomeet the fundamental needs of humans. McGilvray cleverly evidencesChomsky s unification of the science of language, humannature and politics." Anna Maria Di Sciullo, University of Quebec atMontreal