Epistemological and Innate in Kant and Chomsky

Fabiana Simeoni Avais,Marina Chiara Legroski

doi:10.47295/mgren.v10i3.3424

Fabiana Simeoni Avais, Marina Chiara Legroski

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.47295/mgren.v10i3.3424

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Abstract

In this project, I aim to discuss some points of Kantian and Chomskyan theories of knowledge, pondering on connections between them. I propose the question “what are the epistemological connections between Kant and Chomsky?” using the comparative method. Besides an historical topic, I propose theoretical contents, as Chomskyan linguistics development; Kantian aprioristical thoughts; Kantian judgments and Port-Royal judgments; innate triangles for Kant, Chomsky and Descartes; and Chomsky’s linguistic on century 21 st . The main objective of the article is to achieve a better understanding of Kant’s and Chomsky’s epistemic relations, in order to comprehend more about innateness and theory of knowledge in general. Keywords : Innateness. Cartesian Linguistics. Kant. Chomsky. Poverty of stimulus. DOI: https://doi.org/10.47295/mgren.v10i3.3424

Highlights

This research is a comparison between the epistemological theories of Immanuel Kant and Noam Chomsky
Much is said about the correspondence between Descartes and Chomsky; After all, there is a book named Cartesian Linguistics (2002) in which Chomsky ponders on Descartes’ work, and for the title itself it is possible to perceive that Descartes had influence on him (KENEDY, 2016: 93)
What I set as a problem of research after these primary questions was “what are the epistemological connections between Kant and Chomsky?” Some points, which I named Historical Aspects, are previous theoretical knowledge that Kant and Chomsky shared in the History of Science

Summary

Introduction

This research is a comparison between the epistemological theories of Immanuel Kant and Noam Chomsky. I found relevant to achieve a better understanding of historical aspects that concerned linguistic and philosophic matters, antecedent to these authors. This criteria was adopted for the fact that Chomsky’s and Kant’s works may be seen by different perspectives, and in this case, I took their historical paths (this means, philosophical alignments to scholars along the years) as an important factor, and as a base to comprehend their ideas. Epistemological basis for each author were presented in this paper to comprehend their theories. In Cartesian Linguistics, Chomsky mentions: Certain major figures — Kant, for example — have not been mentioned or have been inadequately discussed [...] Still, even such a fragmentary survey as this does indicate, it seems to me, that the discontinuity of development in linguistic theory has been quite harmful to it and that a careful examination of classical linguistic theory, with its accompanying theory of mental processes, may prove to be an enterprise of considerable value. (see CHOMSKY, 2002: 104; GLENDAY, 2010: 188)

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