Introduction

[krummja]

Hello,

I am Jonathan, 24 years old from the United States.

I am a Bachelor of Linguistics with interests in cognitive science, Chomskyan generative theory, and language acquisition. I have a healthy interest in the philosophy of science as well. I will, if all goes to plan, be beginning a doctoral program in my field in mid to late 2016.

When I was in my teens, I was very right-wing, largely due to upbringing but also due to the influence of a couple of friends I looked up to. I have since left those toxic ideals far behind. I bounced around positions within the range of general social democracy for a long time before befriending some people in my field who hold very left-wing positions.

It took some argumentation on their part to bring me into the fold; I held some pretty leftist views without recognizing them for what they were and just needed the nudge to fully break free of my American indoctrination. Socialism was still a "dirty word" at the time; oh, how my perceptions have changed, haha.

I'm still feeling things out and learning everything I can about socialist theory. Being a linguist, I obviously turned to Chomsky early on. I find his reasoning to be very clear and enjoy reading his writings. I am currently working through Capital and a couple of other books like Killing Hope (Blum) and Kill Anything That Moves (Hedges), tracing through the history of American imperiaism and war criminality.

I hope to learn a lot here from everyone and develop a stronger sense of where I am. If I develop better discussion and debate skills relating to these issues while I'm here, all the better.

If anyone has any questions about me, I'd be happy to answer them as best as I feel comfortable. There's not much else to say that won't come out in discussion, so that's all I have for now.

Thanks!

[Q]

Welcome :)

If you have political questions, you can ask them in the Learning forum. That's why it's there after all!

If you have questions about your account, don't hesitate to send me a PM or ask here.

As I'm sure you're aware, there is quite some controversy about Chomsky's linguistical work. One such critique is by Chris Knight who strongly resists his theories (http://www.chrisknight.co.uk/category/noam_chomsky/). He himself is a Marxist, professor at the University of East London and founding member of the Radical Anthropology Group (http://radicalanthropologygroup.org/).

[krummja]

I'm familiar with the Chris Knight work.

There are two kinds of criticism of Chomskyan theory (and really this is true of any scientific domain). There are those that create useful discussion because they actually have a fair appraisal of modern generative theory and engage it as a serious scientific enterprise, and there are those that are terrifically misinformed about the foundational character of the field.

Knight's work falls firmly in the latter category. Skimming back through "Decoding Chomsky," I find it rife with confusions, bizarre misinterpretations, and blatant falsehoods.

There is plenty of room for debate in linguistics today, and Chomsky's theories have been controversial, but this is not what such controversy looks like. Playing the game means understanding the rules, and this doesn't.

[1xAntifa]

linguistics eh? Sounds fascinating. Look forward to hearing more from you here. I know zilch on the topic and am investigating language as a tool of oppression with a view to monkey-wrenching it. Trouble is, where to start. Advice/ideas much appreciated.
1xantifa:)