Editing Noam Chomsky (section)

==Reception and influence==
{{Quote box
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 | quote = [Chomsky's] voice is heard in academia beyond linguistics and philosophy: from computer science to neuroscience, from anthropology to education, mathematics and literary criticism. If we include Chomsky's political activism then the boundaries become quite blurred, and it comes as no surprise that Chomsky is increasingly seen as enemy number one by those who inhabit that wide sphere of reactionary discourse and action.
 | source = —Sperlich, 2006{{sfn|Sperlich|2006|p=60}}
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Chomsky has been a defining Western intellectual figure, central to the field of linguistics and definitive in cognitive science, computer science, philosophy, and psychology.{{sfn|Knight|2016|p=2}} In addition to being known as one of the most important intellectuals of his time,{{efn|name=important}} Chomsky has a dual legacy as a leader and luminary in both linguistics and the realm of [[political dissent]].{{sfn|Barsky|1997|p=191}} Despite his academic success, his political viewpoints and activism have resulted in his being distrusted by mainstream media, and he is regarded as being "on the outer margin of acceptability".{{sfn|Sperlich|2006|p=24}} Chomsky's public image and social reputation often color his work's public reception.{{sfn|Barsky|2007|p=107}}

===In academia===
McGilvray observes that Chomsky inaugurated the "[[cognitive revolution]]" in linguistics,{{sfn|McGilvray|2014|p=5}} and that he is largely responsible for establishing the field as a formal, [[natural science]],{{sfn|McGilvray|2014|p=9}} moving it away from the procedural form of [[structural linguistics]] dominant during the mid-20th century.{{sfn|McGilvray|2014|pp=9–10}} As such, some have called Chomsky "the father of modern linguistics".{{efn|name=father}} Linguist John Lyons further remarked that within a few decades of publication, Chomskyan linguistics had become "the most dynamic and influential" school of thought in the field.{{sfn|Lyons|1978|p=2}} By the 1970s his work had also come to exert a considerable influence on philosophy,{{sfn|Sperlich|2006|p=42}} and a [[Minnesota State University Moorhead]] poll ranked ''Syntactic Structures'' as the single most important work in [[cognitive science]].{{sfn|MSUM Cognitive Sciences}} In addition, his work in [[automata theory]] and the Chomsky hierarchy have become well known in [[computer science]], and he is much cited in [[computational linguistics]].{{sfn|Sperlich|2006|p=39}}{{sfn|Sipser|1997}}{{sfn|Knuth at Stanford University|2003}}

Chomsky's criticisms of behaviorism contributed substantially to the decline of [[behaviorist psychology]];{{sfn|Graham|2019}} in addition, he is generally regarded as one of the primary founders of the field of cognitive science.{{sfn|Harris|2010}}{{sfn|McGilvray|2014|p=19}} Some arguments in [[evolutionary psychology]] are derived from his research results;{{sfn|Massey University|1996}} [[Nim Chimpsky]], a chimpanzee who was the subject of a study in [[animal language acquisition]] at Columbia University, was named after Chomsky in reference to his view of language acquisition as a uniquely human ability.{{sfn|Radick|2007|p=320}}

[[ACM Turing Award]] winner [[Donald Knuth]] credited Chomsky's work with helping him combine his interests in mathematics, linguistics, and computer science.{{sfn|Knuth|2003|p=1}} [[IBM]] computer scientist [[John Backus]], another Turing Award winner, used some of Chomsky's concepts to help him develop [[FORTRAN]], the first widely used high-level [[computer programming language]].{{sfn|Fulton|2007}} Chomsky's theory of generative grammar has also influenced work in [[music theory]] and [[musical analysis|analysis]], such as [[Fred Lerdahl]]'s and [[Ray Jackendoff]]'s [[generative theory of tonal music]].{{sfn|Baroni|Callegari|1982|pp=201–218}}{{sfn|Steedman|1984|pp=52–77}}{{sfn|Rohrmeier|2007|pp=97–100}}

Chomsky is among the most cited authors living or dead.{{efn|name="most cited"}} He was cited within the [[Arts and Humanities Citation Index]] more often than any other living scholar from 1980 to 1992.{{sfn|Babe|2015|p=xvii}} Chomsky was also extensively cited in the [[Social Sciences Citation Index]] and [[Science Citation Index]] during the same period. The librarian who conducted the research said that the statistics show that "he is very widely read across disciplines and that his work is used by researchers across disciplines{{nbsp}}... it seems that you can't write a paper without citing Noam Chomsky."{{sfn|Knight|2016|p=2}} As a result of his influence, there are dueling camps of Chomskyan and non-Chomskyan linguistics. Their disputes are often acrimonious.{{sfn|Boden|2006|p=593}} Additionally, according to journalist [[Maya Jaggi]], Chomsky is among the most quoted sources in the humanities, ranking alongside [[Karl Marx|Marx]], [[Shakespeare]] and [[the Bible]].{{sfn|Jaggi|2001}}

===In politics===
[[File:Noam Chomsky - Prospects for Survival - 2017 - 5.jpg|thumb|Chomsky cautions against ignoring the threats of climate change and nuclear war in the wake of [[Donald Trump]]'s election, in a 2017 speech.]]
Chomsky's status as the "most-quoted living author" is credited to his political writings, which vastly outnumber his writings on linguistics.{{sfn|Boden|2006|p=592}} Chomsky biographer Wolfgang B. Sperlich characterizes him as "one of the most notable contemporary champions of the people";{{sfn|Sperlich|2006|p=7}} journalist [[John Pilger]] has described him as a "genuine people's hero; an inspiration for struggles all over the world for that basic decency known as freedom. To a lot of people in the margins—activists and movements—he's unfailingly supportive."{{sfn|Jaggi|2001}} [[Arundhati Roy]] has called him "one of the greatest, most radical public thinkers of our time",{{sfn|Sperlich|2006|p=114}} and [[Edward Said]] thought him "one of the most significant challengers of unjust power and delusions".{{sfn|Jaggi|2001}} [[Fred Halliday]] has said that by the start of the 21st century Chomsky had become a "guru" for the world's anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist movements.{{sfn|Jaggi|2001}} The propaganda model of media criticism that he and Herman developed has been widely accepted in radical media critiques and adopted to some level in mainstream criticism of the media,{{sfn|Sperlich|2006|p=129}} also exerting a significant influence on the growth of [[alternative media]], including radio, publishers, and the Internet, which in turn have helped to disseminate his work.{{sfn|Sperlich|2006|p=142}}

Despite this broad influence, university departments devoted to history and political science rarely include Chomsky's work on their undergraduate syllabi.{{sfn|Barsky|1997|pp=153–154}} Critics have argued that despite publishing widely on social and political issues, Chomsky has no formal expertise in these areas; he has responded that such issues are not as complex as many [[social science|social scientists]] claim and that almost everyone is able to comprehend them regardless of whether they have been academically trained to do so.{{sfn|McGilvray|2014|p=161}} Some have responded to these criticisms by questioning the critics' motives and their understanding of Chomsky's ideas. Sperlich, for instance, says that Chomsky has been vilified by corporate interests, particularly in the mainstream press.{{sfn|Sperlich|2006|p=10}} Likewise, according to McGilvray, many of Chomsky's critics "do not bother quoting his work or quote out of context, distort, and create straw men that cannot be supported by Chomsky's text".{{sfn|McGilvray|2014|p=161}}

Chomsky drew criticism for not calling the [[Bosnian War]]'s [[Srebrenica massacre]] a "genocide".{{sfn|Braun|2018}}{{sfn|Nettelfield|2010|p=142}} While he did not deny the fact of the massacre,<ref>{{Cite news |title=Corrections and clarifications |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=November 17, 2005 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2005/nov/17/pressandpublishing.corrections |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077  |access-date=February 21, 2022 |archive-date=July 12, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130712060626/http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2005/nov/17/pressandpublishing.corrections |url-status=live }}</ref> which he called "a horror story and major crime", he felt the massacre did not meet the [[definition of genocide]].{{sfn|Braun|2018}} Critics have accused Chomsky of [[Bosnian genocide denial|denying the Bosnian genocide]].<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=August 28, 2009 |title=Chomsky's Genocidal Denial |url=https://bosniak.org/2009/08/28/chomskys-genocidal-denial/ |access-date=July 28, 2023 |website=Congress of Bosniaks of North America |language=en-US |archive-date=July 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230728031342/https://bosniak.org/2009/08/28/chomskys-genocidal-denial/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Chomsky's far-reaching criticisms of U.S. foreign policy and the legitimacy of U.S. power have raised controversy. A document obtained pursuant to a [[Freedom of Information Act (United States)|Freedom of Information Act]] (FOIA) request from the U.S. government revealed that the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA) monitored his activities and for years denied doing so. The CIA also destroyed its files on Chomsky at some point, possibly in violation of federal law.{{sfn|Hudson|2013}} He has often received undercover police protection at MIT and when speaking on the Middle East but has refused uniformed police protection.{{sfn|Rabbani|2012}} German news magazine ''[[Der Spiegel]]'' described Chomsky as "the Ayatollah of anti-American hatred",{{sfn|Sperlich|2006|p=10}} while American [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative]] commentator [[David Horowitz]] called him "the most devious, the most dishonest and&nbsp;... the most treacherous intellect in America", whose work is infused with "anti-American dementia" and evidences his "pathological hatred of his own country".{{sfn|Horowitz|2001}}

{{anchor|Israel}}Chomsky's criticism of Israel has led to his being called a traitor to the Jewish people and an [[anti-Semitism|anti-Semite]].{{sfn|Sperlich|2006|p=100}} Criticizing Chomsky's defense of the right of individuals to engage in Holocaust denial on the grounds that freedom of speech must be extended to all viewpoints, [[Werner Cohn]] called Chomsky "the most important patron" of the [[Neo-Nazism|neo-Nazi]] movement.{{sfn|Cohn|1995|p=37}} The [[Anti-Defamation League]] (ADL) called him a Holocaust denier,{{sfn|Sperlich|2006|p=101}} describing him as a "dupe of intellectual pride so overweening that he is incapable of making distinctions between totalitarian and democratic societies, between oppressors and victims".{{sfn|Sperlich|2006|p=101}} In turn, Chomsky has claimed that the ADL is dominated by "Stalinist types" who oppose democracy in Israel.{{sfn|Sperlich|2006|p=100}} The lawyer [[Alan Dershowitz]] has called Chomsky a "false prophet of the left";{{sfn|Barsky|1997|p=170}} Chomsky called Dershowitz "a complete liar" who is on "a crazed jihad, dedicating much of his life to trying to destroy my reputation".{{sfn|Barsky|1997|pp=170–171}} In early 2016, President [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]] of Turkey publicly rebuked Chomsky after he signed an open letter condemning Erdoğan for his [[Kurdish–Turkish conflict (1978–present)#2015–present|anti-Kurdish repression]] and double standards on terrorism.{{sfn|Weaver|2016}} Chomsky accused Erdoğan of hypocrisy, noting that Erdoğan supports [[al-Qaeda]]'s Syrian affiliate,{{sfn|Sengupta|2015}} the [[al-Nusra Front]].{{sfn|Weaver|2016}}

===Academic achievements, awards, and honors===
{{See also|List of honorary degrees awarded to Noam Chomsky}}
[[File:Chomsky and Krieger.jpg|thumb|Chomsky receiving an award from the president of the [[Nuclear Age Peace Foundation]], David Krieger (2014)]]
In 1970, the London ''[[The Times|Times]]'' named Chomsky one of the "makers of the twentieth century".{{sfn|Baughman et al.|2006}} He was voted the world's leading public intellectual in The 2005 Global Intellectuals Poll jointly conducted by American magazine ''[[Foreign Policy]]'' and British magazine [[Prospect (magazine)|''Prospect'']].{{sfn|''Foreign Policy''|2005}} ''[[New Statesman]]'' readers listed Chomsky among the world's foremost heroes in 2006.{{sfn|Cowley|2006}} In 2011, the [[US Peace Memorial Foundation]] awarded [[The US Peace Prize]] to Chomsky, "whose antiwar activities for five decades both educate and inspire."<ref>{{cite web|title=US Peace Prize |url=https://www.uspeaceprize.org/}}</ref>

In the United States he is a [[Member of the National Academy of Sciences]], the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]], the [[Linguistic Society of America]], the [[American Association for the Advancement of Science]], the [[American Philosophical Association]],{{sfn|Contemporary Authors Online|2016}} and the [[American Philosophical Society]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=APS Member History|url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=Chomsky|access-date=June 9, 2021|website=[[American Philosophical Society]]|archive-date=June 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210609220943/https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=Chomsky|url-status=live}}</ref> Abroad he is a corresponding fellow of the [[British Academy]], an honorary member of the [[British Psychological Society]], a member of the [[Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina]],{{sfn|Contemporary Authors Online|2016}} and a foreign member of the Department of Social Sciences of the [[Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts]].{{sfn|SASA foreign membership|2003}} He received a 1971 [[Guggenheim Fellowship]], the 1984 [[American Psychological Association Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology]], the 1988 [[Kyoto Prize in Basic Sciences]], the 1996 [[Helmholtz Medal]],{{sfn|Contemporary Authors Online|2016}} the 1999 [[Benjamin Franklin Medal (Franklin Institute)|Benjamin Franklin Medal in Computer and Cognitive Science]],{{sfn|MIT Linguistics Program|2002}} the 2010 [[Erich Fromm Prize]],{{sfn|Deutsche Presse-Agentur|2010}} and the [[British Academy]]'s 2014 [[Neil and Saras Smith Medal for Linguistics]].{{sfn|British Academy|2014}} He is also a two-time winner of the [[NCTE George Orwell Award for Distinguished Contribution to Honesty and Clarity in Public Language]] (1987 and 1989).{{sfn|Contemporary Authors Online|2016}} He has also received the Rabindranath Tagore Centenary Award from [[The Asiatic Society]].{{sfn|''Soundings''|2002}}

Chomsky received the 2004 [[Carl von Ossietzky|Carl-von-Ossietzky]] Prize from the city of [[Oldenburg (city)|Oldenburg, Germany]], to acknowledge his body of work as a political analyst and media critic.{{sfn|Inventio Musikverlag}} He received an honorary fellowship in 2005 from the [[Literary and Historical Society (University College Dublin)|Literary and Historical Society of University College Dublin]].{{sfn|Soundtracksforthem: Interview|2005}} He received the 2008 President's Medal from the Literary and Debating Society of the [[National University of Ireland, Galway]].{{sfn|Desmond Tutu to speak to Litndeb|2009}} Since 2009, he has been an honorary member of [[International Association of Professional Translators and Interpreters]] (IAPTI).{{sfn|Honorary Members of IAPTI}} He received the University of Wisconsin's A.E. Havens Center's Award for Lifetime Contribution to Critical Scholarship{{sfn|UoW–M|2010}} and was inducted into [[IEEE Intelligent Systems]]' AI's Hall of Fame for "significant contributions to the field of AI and intelligent systems."{{sfn|IEEE Xplore|2011}} Chomsky has an [[Erdős number]] of four.{{sfn|Erdös Number at Oakland Univ|2017}}

In 2011, the US Peace Memorial Foundation awarded Chomsky the US Peace Prize for anti-war activities over five decades.{{sfn|US Memorial Peace Foundation}} For his work in human rights, peace, and social criticism, he received the 2011 [[Sydney Peace Prize]]<!--"unfailing courage, critical analysis of power and promotion of human rights"-->,{{sfn|Huxley|2011}} the [[Sretenje Order]] in 2015,{{sfn|''Politika''|2015}} the 2017 [[Seán MacBride Peace Prize]]<!--"for his tireless commitment to peace, his strong critiques to U.S. foreign policy, and his anti-imperialism"-->{{sfn|IPB|2017}} and the Dorothy Eldridge Peacemaker Award.{{sfn|MIT Linguistics Program|2002}}

Chomsky has received honorary doctorates from institutions including the [[University of London]] and the [[University of Chicago]] (1967), [[Loyola University Chicago]] and [[Swarthmore College]] (1970), [[Bard College]] (1971), [[Delhi University]] (1972), the [[University of Massachusetts]] (1973), and the [[International School for Advanced Studies]] (2012).{{sfnm|1a1=Lyons|1y=1978|1pp=xv–xvi|2a1=Barsky|2y=1997|2pp=120, 143}} Public lectures given by Chomsky include the 1969 [[John Locke Lectures]],{{sfn|MIT Linguistics Program|2002}} 1975 [[Whidden Lectures]],{{sfn|Barsky|1997|p=156}} 1977 [[Huizinga Lecture]], and 1988 [[Massey Lectures]].{{sfn|MIT Linguistics Program|2002}}

Various tributes to Chomsky have been dedicated over the years. He is the [[:wikt:eponym|eponym]] for [[Megachile chomskyi|a bee species]],{{sfn|Pensoft (bee)}} [[Pristimantis chomskyi|a frog species]],{{sfn|Páez|2019}} an [[Meanings of minor planet names: 52001–53000#270|asteroid]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Small-Body Database Lookup |url=https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=52270&view=OPD |access-date=August 17, 2024 |website=ssd.jpl.nasa.gov}}</ref> and a building complex at the Indian university [[Jamia Millia Islamia]].{{sfn|JMI|2007}} Actor [[Viggo Mortensen]] and avant-garde guitarist [[Buckethead]] dedicated their 2003 album ''[[Pandemoniumfromamerica]]'' to Chomsky.{{sfn|Viggo Mortensen's Spoken Word & Music CDs}}