SMC219Y1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: False Consciousness, Universal Grammar, Noam Chomsky
22 Apr 2017
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Communication and language theorist believes linguistics is the foundation of human goodness. Thomas hobbes nature of mankind/humanity (are they good/bad?) Hobbes says humanity is bad/ looks at humanity in a state of nature. Without government people are nasty, brutish and short. John locke in a state of natural, humanity is fundamentally good. We are smart enough to have common interest. When working together people take advantage and the weak suffer at the hands of the strong (people who created religion, government). We kill each other because the government told us to, we actually don"t have anything against each other. Chomsky follows locke better off without government. Institutions have made our lives increasingly unequal because we have a false consciousness (we believe they keep us safe: it comes from our ability to cooperate which comes from language to make bonds stronger. Language acquisition device: we have this built into us, but chomsky doesn"t define it.
