constructivism

Instructional Design
&
Learning Theory
Brenda Mergel
Graduate Student
Educational Communications and Technology
University of Saskatchewan
May, 1998
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Introduction:
To students of instructional design the introduction and subsequent "sorting out" of the various learning theories and associated instructional design strategies can be somewhat confusing. It was out of this feeling of cognitive dissonance that this site was born.
Why does it seem so difficult to differentiate between three basic theories of learning? Why do the names of theorists appear connected to more than one theory? Why do the terms and strategies of each theory overlap?
The need for answers to these questions sparked my investigation into the available literature on learning theories and their implications for instructional design. I found many articles and internet sites that dealt with learning theory and ID, in fact, it was difficult to know when and where to draw the line. When I stopped finding new information, and the articles were reaffirming what I had already read, I began to write.
The writing process was a learning experience for me and now that I have finished, I want to start over and make it even better, because I know more now than I did when I began. Every time I reread an article, there were ideas and lists that I would wish to add to my writing. Perhaps in further development of this site I will change and refine my presentation.
Reading about the development of learning theories and their connection to instructional design evoked, for me, many parallels with the development of other theories in sciences. I have included some of those thoughts as asides within the main body of text.
Besides behaviorism, cognitivism and constructivism one could discuss such topics as connoisseurship, semiotics, and contextualism, but I decided that a clear understanding of the basic learning theories would be best. The main sections of this site are as follows:
• What are Theories and Models?
• The Basics of the Learning Theories
o The Basics of Behaviorism
o The Basics of Cognitivism
o The Basics of Constructivism
• The History of Learning Theories in Instructional Design
o Behaviorism and Instructional Design
o Cognitivism and Instructional Design
o Constructivism and Instructional Design
• Comparing The Development of Learning Theories to the Development of the Atomic Theory
• Learning Theories and the Practice of Instructional Design
• Learning Theories - Some Strengths and Weaknesses
• Is There One Best Learning Theory for Instructional Design?
• Conclusion
• References and Bibliography

What are Theories and Models?
• What is a theory?
o A theory provides a general explanation for observations made over time.
o A theory explains and predicts behavior.
o A theory can never be established beyond all doubt.
o A theory may be modified.
o Theories seldom have to be thrown out completely if thoroughly tested but sometimes a theory may be widely accepted for a long time and later disproved.
(Dorin, Demmin & Gabel, 1990)
• What is a model?
o A model is a mental picture that helps us understand something we cannot see or experience directly.
(Dorin, Demmin & Gabel, 1990)

Behaviorism, Cognitivism and Constructivism - The Basics
Behaviorism: Based on observable changes in behavior. Behaviorism focuses on a new behavioral pattern being repeated until it becomes automatic.
Cognitivism: Based on the thought process behind the behavior. Changes in behavior are observed, and used as indicators as to what is happening inside the learner's mind.
Constructivism: Based on the premise that we all construct our own perspective of the world, through individual experiences and schema. Constructivism focuses on preparing the learner to problem solve in ambiguous situations.

(Schuman, 1996)
The Basics of Behaviorism
Behaviorism, as a learning theory, can be traced back to Aristotle, whose essay "Memory" focused on associations being made between events such as lightning and thunder. Other philosophers that followed Aristotle's thoughts are Hobbs (1650), Hume (1740), Brown (1820), Bain (1855) and Ebbinghause (1885) (Black, 1995).
The theory of behaviorism concentrates on the study of overt behaviors that can be observed and measured (Good & Brophy, 1990). It views the mind as a "black box" in the sense that response to stimulus can be observed quantitatively, totally ignoring the possibility of thought processes occurring in the mind. Some key players in the development of the behaviorist theory were Pavlov, Watson, Thorndike and Skinner.

Pavlov (1849 - 1936)
For most people, the name "Pavlov" rings a bell (pun intended). The Russian physiologist is best known for his work in classical conditioning or stimulus substitution. Pavlov's most famous experiment involved food, a dog and a bell.
Pavlov's Experiment
• Before conditioning, ringing the bell caused no response from the dog. Placing food in front of the dog initiated salivation.
• During conditioning, the bell was rung a few seconds before the dog was presented with food.
• After conditioning, the ringing of the bell alone produced salivation

(Dembo, 1994).

Stimulus and Response Items of Pavlov's Experiment
Food Unconditioned Stimulus
Salivation Unconditioned Response (natural, not learned)
Bell Conditioned Stimulus
Salivation Conditioned Response (to bell)

Other Observations Made by Pavlov
• Stimulus Generalization: Once the dog has learned to salivate at the sound of the bell, it will salivate at other similar sounds.
• Extinction: If you stop pairing the bell with the food, salivation will eventually cease in response to the bell.
• Spontaneous Recovery: Extinguished responses can be "recovered" after an elapsed time, but will soon extinguish again if the dog is not presented with food.
• Discrimination: The dog could learn to discriminate between similar bells (stimuli) and discern which bell would result in the presentation of food and which would not.
• Higher-Order Conditioning: Once the dog has been conditioned to associate the bell with food, another unconditioned stimulus, such as a light may be flashed at the same time that the bell is rung. Eventually the dog will salivate at the flash of the light without the sound of the bell.
(What was the name of that dog??)

Thorndike (1874 - 1949)
Edward Thorndike did research in animal behavior before becoming interested in human psychology. He set out to apply "the methods of exact science" to educational problems by emphasizing "accurate quantitative treatment of information". "Anything that exists, exists in a certain quantity and can be measured" (Johcich, as cited in Rizo, 1991). His theory, Connectionism, stated that learning was the formation of a connection between stimulus and response.
• The "law of effect" stated that when a connection between a stimulus and response is positively rewarded it will be strengthened and when it is negatively rewarded it will be weakened. Thorndike later revised this "law" when he found that negative reward, (punishment) did not necessarily weaken bonds, and that some seemingly pleasurable consequences do not necessarily motivate performance.
• The "law of exercise" held that the more an S-R (stimulus response) bond is practiced the stronger it will become. As with the law of effect, the law of exercise also had to be updated when Thorndike found that practice without feedback does not necessarily enhance performance.
• The "law of readiness" : because of the structure of the nervous system, certain conduction units, in a given situation, are more predisposed to conduct than others.
Thorndike's laws were based on the stimulus-response hypothesis. He believed that a neural bond would be established between the stimulus and response when the response was positive. Learning takes place when the bonds are formed into patterns of behavior (Saettler, 1990).

Watson (1878 - 1958)
John B. Watson was the first American psychologist to use Pavlov's ideas. Like Thorndike, he was originally involved in animal research, but later became involved in the study of human behavior.
Watson believed that humans are born with a few reflexes and the emotional reactions of love and rage. All other behavior is established through stimulus-response associations through conditioning.
Watson's Experiment
Watson demonstrated classical conditioning in an experiment involving a young child (Albert) and a white rat. Originally, Albert was unafraid of the rat; but Watson created a sudden loud noise whenever Albert touched the rat. Because Albert was frightened by the loud noise, he soon became conditioned to fear and avoid the rat. The fear was generalized to other small animals. Watson then "extinguished" the fear by presenting the rat without the loud noise. Some accounts of the study suggest that the conditioned fear was more powerful and permanent than it really was. (Harris, 1979; Samelson, 1980, in Brophy, 1990)
Certainly Watson's research methods would be questioned today; however, his work did demonstrate the role of conditioning in the development of emotional responses to certain stimuli. This may explain certain fears, phobias and prejudices that people develop.
(Watson is credited with coining the term "behaviorism")

Skinner (1904 - 1990)
Like Pavlov, Watson and Thorndike, Skinner believed in the stimulus-response pattern of conditioned behavior. His theory dealt with changes in observable behavior, ignoring the possibility of any processes occurring in the mind. Skinner's 1948 book, Walden Two , is about a utopian society based on operant conditioning. He also wrote,Science and Human Behavior, (1953) in which he pointed out how the principles of operant conditioning function in social institutions such as government, law, religion, economics and education (Dembo, 1994).
Skinner's work differs from that of his predecessors (classical conditioning), in that he studied operant behavior (voluntary behaviors used in operating on the environment).

Difference between Classical and Operant Conditioning

Skinner's Operant Conditioning Mechanisms
• Positive Reinforcement or reward: Responses that are rewarded are likely to be repeated. (Good grades reinforce careful study.)
• Negative Reinforcement: Responses that allow escape from painful or undesirable situations are likely to be repeated. (Being excused from writing a final because of good term work.)
• Extinction or Non-Reinforcement : Responses that are not reinforced are not likely to be repeated. (Ignoring student misbehavior should extinguish that behavior.)
• Punishment: Responses that bring painful or undesirable consequences will be suppressed, but may reappear if reinforcement contingencies change. (Penalizing late students by withdrawing privileges should stop their lateness.)
(Good & Brophy, 1990)
Skinner and Behavioral Shaping
If placed in a cage an animal may take a very long time to figure out that pressing a lever will produce food. To accomplish such behavior successive approximations of the behavior are rewarded until the animal learns the association between the lever and the food reward. To begin shaping, the animal may be rewarded for simply turning in the direction of the lever, then for moving toward the lever, for brushing against the lever, and finally for pawing the lever.
Behavioral chaining occurs when a succession of steps need to be learned. The animal would master each step in sequence until the entire sequence is learned.
Reinforcement Schedules
Once the desired behavioral response is accomplished, reinforcement does not have to be 100%; in fact it can be maintained more successfully through what Skinner referred to as partial reinforcement schedules. Partial reinforcement schedules include interval schedules and ratio schedules.
• Fixed Interval Schedules: the target response is reinforced after a fixed amount of time has passed since the last reinforcement.
• Variable Interval Schedules: similar to fixed interval schedules, but the amount of time that must pass between reinforcement varies.
• Fixed Ratio Schedules: a fixed number of correct responses must occur before reinforcement may
recur.
• Variable Ratio Schedules: the number of correct repetitions of the correct response for reinforcement varies.
Variable interval and especially, variable ratio schedules produce steadier and more persistent rates of response because the learners cannot predict when the reinforcement will come although they know that they will eventually succeed.
(Have you checked your Lottery tickets lately?)

The Basics of Cognitivism
As early as the 1920's people began to find limitations in the behaviorist approach to understanding learning. Edward Tolman found that rats used in an experiment appeared to have a mental map of the maze he was using. When he closed off a certain portion of the maze, the rats did not bother to try a certain path because they "knew" that it led to the blocked path. Visually, the rats could not see that the path would result in failure, yet they chose to take a longer route that they knew would be successful (Operant Conditioning [On-line]).
Behaviorists were unable to explain certain social behaviors. For example, children do not imitate all behavior that has been reinforced. Furthermore, they may model new behavior days or weeks after their first initial observation without having been reinforced for the behavior. Because of these observations, Bandura and Walters departed from the traditional operant conditioning explanation that the child must perform and receive reinforcement before being able to learn. They stated in their 1963 book, Social Learning and Personality Development, that an individual could model behavior by observing the behavior of another person. This theory lead to Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory (Dembo, 1994).
What is Cognitivism?
"Cognitive theorists recognize that much learning involves associations established through contiguity and repetition. They also acknowledge the importance of reinforcement, although they stress its role in providing feedback about the correctness of responses over its role as a motivator. However, even while accepting such behavioristic concepts, cognitive theorists view learning as involving the acquisition or reorganization of the cognitive structures through which humans process and store information." (Good and Brophy, 1990, pp. 187).
As with behaviorism, cognitive psychology can be traced back to the ancient Greeks, Plato and Aristotle. The cognitive revolution became evident in American psychology during the 1950's (Saettler, 1990). One of the major players in the development of cognitivism is Jean Piaget, who developed the major aspects of his theory as early as the 1920's. Piaget's ideas did not impact North America until the 1960's after Miller and Bruner founded the Harvard Center for Cognitive studies.
Key Concepts of Cognitive Theory
• Schema - An internal knowledge structure. New information is compared to existing cognitive structures called "schema". Schema may be combined, extended or altered to accommodate new information.
• Three-Stage Information Processing Model - input first enters a sensory register, then is processed in short-term memory, and then is transferred to long-term memory for storage and retrieval.
o Sensory Register - receives input from senses which lasts from less than a second to four seconds and then disappears through decay or replacement. Much of the information never reaches short term memory but all information is monitored at some level and acted upon if necessary.
o Short-Term Memory (STM) - sensory input that is important or interesting is transferred from the sensory register to the STM. Memory can be retained here for up to 20 seconds or more if rehearsed repeatedly. Short-term memory can hold up to 7 plus or minus 2 items. STM capacity can be increased if material is chunked into meaningful parts.
o Long-Term Memory and Storage (LTM) - stores information from STM for long term use. Long-term memory has unlimited capacity. Some materials are "forced" into LTM by rote memorization and over learning. Deeper levels of processing such as generating linkages between old and new information are much better for successful retention of material.
• Meaningful Effects - Meaningful information is easier to learn and remember. (Cofer, 1971, in Good and Brophy, 1990) If a learner links relatively meaningless information with prior schema it will be easier to retain. (Wittrock, Marks, & Doctorow, 1975, in Good and Brophy, 1990)
• Serial Position Effects - It is easier to remember items from the beginning or end of a list rather than those in the middle of the list, unless that item is distinctly different.
• Practice Effects - Practicing or rehearsing improves retention especially when it is distributed practice. By distributing practices the learner associates the material with many different contexts rather than the one context afforded by mass practice.
• Transfer Effects- The effects of prior learning on learning new tasks or material.
• Interference Effects - Occurs when prior learning interferes with the learning of new material.
• Organization Effects - When a learner categorizes input such as a grocery list, it is easier to remember.
• Levels of Processing Effects - Words may be processed at a low-level sensory analysis of their physical characteristics to high-level semantic analysis of their meaning. (Craik and Lockhart, 1972, in Good and Brophy, 1990) The more deeply a word is process the easier it will be to remember.
• State Dependent Effects - If learning takes place within a certain context it will be easier to remember within that context rather than in a new context.
• Mnemonic Effects - Mnemonics are strategies used by learners to organize relatively meaningless input into more meaningful images or semantic contexts. For example, the notes of a musical scale can be remembered by the rhyme: Every Good Boy Deserves Fruit.
• Schema Effects - If information does not fit a person's schema it may be more difficult for them to remember and what they remember or how they conceive of it may also be affected by their prior schema.
• Advance Organizers - Ausebels advance organizers prepare the learner for the material they are about to learn. They are not simply outlines of the material, but are material that will enable the student to make sense out of the lesson.

The Basics of Constructivism
Bartlett (1932) pioneered what became the constructivist approach (Good & Brophy, 1990). Constructivists believe that "learners construct their own reality or at least interpret it based upon their perceptions of experiences, so an individual's knowledge is a function of one's prior experiences, mental structures, and beliefs that are used to interpret objects and events." "What someone knows is grounded in perception of the physical and social experiences which are comprehended by the mind." (Jonasson, 1991).
If each person has their own view about reality, then how can we as a society communicate and/or coexist? Jonassen, addressing this issue in his article Thinking Technology: Toward a Constructivist Design Model, makes the following comments:
• "Perhaps the most common misconception of constructivism is the inference that we each therefore construct a unique reality, that reality is only in the mind of the knower, which will doubtlessly lead to intellectual anarchy."
• "A reasonable response to that criticism is the Gibsonian perspective that contends that there exists a physical world that is subject to physical laws that we all know in pretty much the same way because those physical laws are perceivable by humans in pretty much the same way."
• "Constructivists also believe that much of reality is shared through a process of social negotiation..."
If one searches through the many philosophical and psychological theories of the past, the threads of constructivism may be found in the writing of such people as Bruner, Ulrick, Neiser, Goodman, Kant, Kuhn, Dewey and Habermas. The most profound influence was Jean Piaget's work which was interpreted and extended by von Glasserfield (Smorgansbord, 1997).
Realistic vs. Radical Construction
Realistic constructivism - cognition is the process by which learners eventually construct mental structures that correspond to or match external structures located in the environment.
Radical constructivism - cognition serves to organize the learners experiential world rather than to discover ontological reality

(Cobb, 1996, in Smorgansbord, 1997).
The Assumptions of Constructivism - Merrill
• knowledge is constructed from experience
• learning is a personal interpretation of the world
• learning is an active process in which meaning is developed on the basis of experience
• conceptual growth comes from the negotiation of meaning, the sharing of multiple perspectives and the changing of our internal representations through collaborative learning
• learning should be situated in realistic settings; testing should be integrated with the task and not a separate activity

(Merrill, 1991, in Smorgansbord, 1997)


It Boggles the Mind!
If you are reading about learning theories, you may notice that it is difficult to pin down what theory a certain theorist belongs to. This can confuse you, since, just as you think you have it cased, a name you originally thought was in the behavioral category shows up in a constructivism article.
This problem is often the result of theorists and their ideas evolving over time and changes they make to their original ideas. Davidson includes the following example in an article she wrote:
"Considered by most to be representative of [a] behaviourist learning paradigm, Gagne's theory of learning and events of instruction have evolved progressively to approach a more cognitive theory. His discussion of relating present information and past knowledge (event #3) and the inclusion of learning transfer (event#9) are indicative of this shift toward constructivism." (Davidson, 1998)
Okay? Okay. :-)
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Comparing The Development of Learning Theories to the Development of the Atomic Theory
Atomic Theory
Since the beginning of history, people have theorized about the nature of matter. The ancient Greeks thought that matter was composed of fire, water, earth and air. Another view, the continuous theory, was that matter could be infinitely subdivided into smaller and smaller pieces without change. The Greek philosophers, Democritis and Lucippus, came up with the idea that matter made up of particles so small that they cannot be divided into anything smaller. They called their particles "atomos", which is the Greek word for "indivisible". It wasn't until the 18th century that anyone could prove one theory was better than another. John Dalton in 1803, with his law of multiple proportions, proposed a theory of matter based on the existence of atoms. The rest is history:
• 1803 Dalton's Atomic Theory.
• 1870 Crookes finds the first evidence of electrons.
• 1890's J.J. Thompson realized cathode rays are negative particles (electrons).
• 1909 Rutherford discovered alpha particles and said that atoms consist of small positively charged particles surrounded by mostly empty space where electrons moved around.
• 1913 Niels Bohr develops a new model of the atom with electron energy levels or orbits.
• 1930's and 1940's The atom had a positive nucleus with an electron charge cloud. This theory was referred to as the orbital model and the quantum-mechanical model.

(Dorin, Demmin & Gabel, 1990)



Learning Theory
Given that we will most likely never "see" an atom, we will never "see" learning either. Therefore our learning models are mental pictures that enable us to understand that which we will never see. Does the development of learning theory follow a similar pattern as the atomic theory?
It seems that learning theories, like the study of matter can be traced back to the ancient Greeks. In the 18th century, with the onset of scientific inquiry, people began in ernest to study and develop models of learning. The behaviorist learning theory centered around that which was observable, not considering that there was anything occurring inside the mind. Behaviorism can be compared to Dalton's atom, which was simply a particle. Using overt behavior as a starting point, people began to realize that there is something happening inside the organism that should be considered, since it seemed to affect the overt behavior. Similarly, in physical science, people such as Crookes, Thompson, Rutherford and Bohr realized that there was something occurring within the atom causing its behavior. Thus the cognitive model of learning was born. Soon, however, theorists realized that the "atom" is not stable, it is not so "cut and dried". Enter the constructivist learning theory which tells us that each organism is constantly in flux, and although the old models work to a certain degree, other factors most also be considered. Could the constructivist approach be considered to be the quantum theory of learning?
The quantum theory builds upon the previous atomic theories. Constructivism builds upon behaviorism and cognitivism in the sense that it accepts multiple perspectives and maintains that learning is a personal interpretation of the world. I believe that behavioral strategies can be part of a constructivist learning situation, if that learner choses and finds that type of learning suitable to their experiences and learning style. Cognitive approaches have a place in constructivism also, since constructivism recognises the concept of schema and building upon prior knowledge and experience. Perhaps the greatest difference is that of evaluation. In behaviorism and cognitivism, evaluation is based on meeting specific objectives, whereas in constructivism, evaluation is much more subjective. Of course, what if I, as a learner, negotiate my evaluation and wish to include objective evaluation? Then isn't behavioral and cognitive strategy a part of constructivism?
Perhaps the learning theory used depends upon the learning situation, just as the atomic theory used, depends upon the learning situation. The bohr atom is often used to introduce the concept of protons, neutrons and electrons to grade school students. Perhaps behaviorism is suitable to certain basic learning situations, whereas "quantum" constructivism is better suited to advanced learning situations.

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A Biological Analogy to Learning Theory Classification
The classification of learning theories is somewhat analogous to the classification system designed by biologists to sort out living organisms. Like any attempt to define categories, to establish criteria, the world does not fit the scheme in all cases. Originally there was a plant kingdom and an animal kingdom, but eventually organisms that contained cholophyll and were mobile needed to be classified. The protist kingdom was established. The exact criteria for protists are still not established, but it is a classification that gives us a place for all of the organisms that don't fit neatly into either the plant or animal kingdoms.
To extend the analogy, biologists continued to modify the classification system as know knowledge and insights into existing knowledge were discovered. The advent of new technology such as the electron microscope enabled the addition of the monera kingdom. Recently, the distinctive features of fungi have brought about a proposal for a fifth kingdom, fungi. This development and adjustment of the taxonomy remins one of behaviourism, cognitivism, constructivism, postmodernism, contextualism, semiotics...


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The History of Behaviorism, Cognitivism and Constructivism in Instructional Design
Behaviorism and Instructional Design
** This section on behaviorism is largely a synopsis of information from Paul Saettler's book, The History of American Educational Technology, (1990).
In Paul Saettler's book The History of American Educational Technology, he states that behaviorism did not have an impact on educational technology until the 1960s, which was the time that behaviorism actually began to decrease in popularity in American psychology. Saettler identified six areas that demonstrate the impact of behaviorism on Educational Technology in America: the behavioral objectives movement; the teaching machine phase; the programmed instruction movement; individualized instructional approaches, computer-assisted learning and the systems approach to instruction.
Behavioral Objectives Movement:
A behavioral objective states learning objectives in "specified, quantifiable, terminal behaviors" (Saettler, pp. 288, 1990). Behavioral objectives can be summed up using the mnemonic device ABCD (Schwier, 1998).
Example: After having completed the unit the student will be able to answer correctly 90% of the questions on the posttest.
• A - Audience - the student
• B - Behavior - answer correctly
• C - Condition - after having completed the unit, on a post test
• D - Degree - 90% correct
To develop behavioral objectives a learning task must be broken down through analysis into specific measurable tasks. The learning success may be measured by tests developed to measure each objective.
The advent of behavioral objectives can be traced back to the Elder Sophists of ancient Greece, Cicero, Herbart and Spencer, but Franklin Bobbitt developed the modern concept of behavioral objectives in the early 1900s (Saettler, 1990).
Taxonomic Analysis of Learning Behaviors
• Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning - In 1956 Bloom and his colleagues began development of a taxonomy in the cognitive, attitudinal (affective) and psychomotor domains. Many people are familiar with Bloom's Cognitive taxonomy:
o knowledge
o comprehension
o application
o analysis
o synthesis
o evaluation

• Gagne's Taxonomy of Learning - Robert Gagne developed his taxonomy of learning in 1972. Gagne's taxonomy was comprised of five categories:
o verbal information
o intellectual skill
o cognitive strategy
o attitude
o motor skill
Mastery Learning
Mastery learning was originally developed by Morrison in the 1930s. His formula for mastery was "Pretest, teach, test the result, adapt procedure, teach and test again to the point of actual learning." (Morrison, 1931, in Saettler, 1990). Mastery learning assumes that all students can master the materials presented in the lesson. Bloom further developed Morrison's plan, but mastery learning is more effective for the lower levels of learning on Bloom's taxonomy, and not appropriate for higher level learning (Saettler, 1990).
Military and Industrial Approach
For military and industrial training, "behavioral objectives were written descriptions of specific, terminal behaviors that were manifested in terms of observable, measurable behavior." (Saettler, 1990) Robert Mager wrote Preparing Instructional Objectives, in 1962 which prompted interest and use of behavioral objectives among educators. Gagne and Briggs who also had backgrounds in military and industrial psychology developed a set of instructions for writing objectives that is based on Mager's work.
• Gagne's and Brigg's Model
o Action
o Object
o Situation
o Tools and Constraints
o Capability to be Learned
By the late 1960's most teachers were writing and using behavioral objectives. There were, of course, people who questioned the breaking down of subject material into small parts, believing that it would lead away from an understanding of the "whole" (Saettler, 1990).
Accountability Movement
A movement known as scientific management of industry arose in the early 1900s in response to political and economic factors of that time. Franklin Bobbitt proposed utilization of this system in education stressing that the standards and direction of education should stem from the consumer - society. Bobbitt's ideas exemplified the idea of accountability, competency-based education and performance-based education, which because of similar economic and political factors, experienced a revival in America during the late 1960s and 1970s (Saettler, 1990).
Teaching Machines and Programmed Instruction Movement
Although the elder Sophists, Comenius, Herbart and Montessori used the concept of programmed instruction in their repertoire, B.F. Skinner is the most current and probably best known advocate of teaching machines and programmed learning. Contributors to this movement include the following:
• Pressey - introduced a multiple-choice machine at the 1925 American Psychological Association meeting.
• Peterson - a former student of Pressey's who developed "chemosheets" in which the learner checked their answers with a chemical-dipped swab.
• W.W.II - devises called "phase checks", constructed in the 1940s and 1950s, taught and tested such skills and dissassembly-assembly of equipment.
• Crowder - designed a branched style of programming for the US Air force in the 1950s to train troubleshooters to find malfunctions in electronic equipment.
• Skinner - based on operant conditioning Skinner's teaching machine required the learner to complete or answer a question and then receive feedback on the correctness of the response. Skinner demonstrated his machine in 1954.

(Saettler, 1990)
Early Use of Programmed Instruction
After experimental use of programmed instruction in the 1920s and 1930s, B. F. Skinner and J.G. Holland first used programmed instruction in behavioral psychology courses at Harvard in the late 1950s. Use of programmed instruction appeared in elementary and secondary schools around the same time. Much of the programmed instruction in American schools was used with individuals or small groups of students and was more often used in junior high schools than senior or elementary schools (Saettler, 1990).
Early use of programmed instruction tended to concentrate on the development of hardware rather than course content. Concerned developers moved away from hardware development to programs based on analysis of learning and instruction based on learning theory. Despite these changes, programmed learning died out in the later part of the 1960s because it did not appear to live up to its original claims (Saettler, 1990).
Individualized Approaches to Instruction
Similar to programmed learning and teaching machines individualized instruction began in the early 1900s, and was revived in the 1960s. The Keller Plan, Individually Prescribed Instruction, Program for Learning in Accordance with Needs, and Individually Guided Education are all examples of individualized instruction in the U.S. (Saettler, 1990).
Keller Plan (1963)
• Developed by F.S. Keller, a colleague of Skinner, the Keller plan was used for university college classes.
• Main features of Keller Plan
o individually paced.
o mastery learning.
o lectures and demonstrations motivational rather than critical information.
o use of proctors which permitted testing, immediate scoring, tutoring, personal-social aspect of educational process.

(Saettler, 1990)
Individually Prescribed Instruction (IPI) (1964)
• Developed by Learning Research and Development Center of the University of Pitsburgh.
• Lasted into the 1970s when it lost funding and its use dwindled
• Main features of IPI:
o prepared units.
o behavioral objectives.
o planned instructional sequences.
o used for reading, math and science.
o included pretest and posttest for each unit.
o materials continually evaluated and upgraded to meet behavioral objectives.
(Saettler, 1990)
Program for Learning in Accordance with Needs (PLAN) (1967)
• Headed by Jon C. Flanagan, PLAN was developed under sponsorship of American Institutes for Research (AIR), Westinghouse Learning Corporation and fourteen U.S. School districts.
• Abandoned in late 1970s because of upgrading costs
• Main features of PLAN
o schools selected items from about 6,000 behavioral objectives.
o each instructional module took about two weeks instruction and were made up of approximately. five objectives.
o mastery learning.
o remedial learning plus retesting.
(Saettler, 1990)
Computer-Assisted Instruction (CAI)
Computer-assisted instruction was first used in education and training during the 1950s. Early work was done by IBM and such people as Gordon Pask, and O.M. Moore, but CAI grew rapidly in the 1960s when federal funding for research and development in education and industrial laboratories was implemented. The U.S. government wanted to determine the possible effectiveness of computer-assisted instruction, so they developed two competing companies, (Control Data Corporation and Mitre Corporation) who came up with the PLATO and TICCIT projects. Despite money and research, by the mid seventies it was apparent that CAI was not going to be the success that people had believed. Some of the reasons are:
• CAI had been oversold and could not deliver.
• lack of support from certain sectors.
• technical problems in implementation.
• lack of quality software.
• high cost.
Computer-assisted instruction was very much drill-and-practice - controlled by the program developer rather than the learner. Little branching of instruction was implemented although TICCIT did allow the learner to determine the sequence of instruction or to skip certain topics.

(Saettler, 1990)
Systems Approach to Instruction
The systems approach developed out of the 1950s and 1960s focus on language laboratories, teaching machines, programmed instruction, multimedia presentations and the use of the computer in instruction. Most systems approaches are similar to computer flow charts with steps that the designer moves through during the development of instruction. Rooted in the military and business world, the systems approach involved setting goals and objectives, analyzing resources, devising a plan of action and continuous evaluation/modification of the program. (Saettler, 1990)


Cognitivism and Instructional Design
Although cognitive psychology emerged in the late 1950s and began to take over as the dominant theory of learning, it wasn't until the late 1970s that cognitive science began to have its influence on instructional design. Cognitive science began a shift from behavioristic practices which emphasised external behavior, to a concern with the internal mental processes of the mind and how they could be utilized in promoting effective learning. The design models that had been developed in the behaviorist tradition were not simply tossed out, but instead the "task analysis" and "learner analysis" parts of the models were embellished. The new models addressed component processes of learning such as knowledge coding and representation, information storage and retrieval as well as the incorporation and integration of new knowledge with previous information (Saettler, 1990). Because Cognitivism and Behaviorism are both governed by an objective view of the nature of knowledge and what it means to know something, the transition from behavioral instructional design principles to those of a cognitive style was not entirely difficult. The goal of instruction remained the communication or transfer of knowledge to learners in the most efficient, effective manner possible (Bednar et al., in Anglin, 1995). For example, the breaking down of a task into small steps works for a behaviorist who is trying to find the most efficient and fail proof method of shaping a learner's behavior. The cognitive scientist would analyze a task, break it down into smaller steps or chunks and use that information to develop instruction that moves from simple to complex building on prior schema.
The influence of cognitive science in instructional design is evidenced by the use of advance organizers, mnemonic devices, metaphors, chunking into meaningful parts and the careful organization of instructional materials from simple to complex.
Cognitivism and Computer-Based Instruction
Computers process information in a similar fashion to how cognitive scientists believe humans process information: receive, store and retrieve. This analogy makes the possibility of programming a computer to "think" like a person conceivable, i.e.. artificial intelligence.
Artificial intelligence involve the computer working to supply appropriate responses to student input from the computer's data base. A trouble-shooting programs is one example of these programs. Below is a list of some programs and their intended use:
• SCHOLAR - teaches facts about South American geography in a Socratic method
• PUFF - diagnoses medical patients for possible pulmonary disorders
• MYCIN - diagnoses blood infections and prescribes possible treatment
• DENDRAL - enables a chemist to make an accurate guess about the molecular structure of an unknown compound
• META-DENDRAL - makes up its own molecular fragmentation rules in an attempt to explain sets of basic data
• GUIDION - a derivative of the MYCIN program that gave a student information about a case and compared their diagnosis with what MYCIN would suggest
• SOPIE - helps engineers troubleshoot electronic equipment problems
• BUGGY - allows teachers to diagnose causes for student mathematical errors
• LOGO - designed to help children learn to program a computer
• Davis' math programs for the PLATO system - to encourage mathematical development through discovery

(Saettler, 1990)

Constructivism and Instructional Design
The shift of instructional design from behaviorism to cognitivism was not as dramatic as the move into constructivism appears to be, since behaviorism and cognitivism are both objective in nature. Behaviorism and cognitivism both support the practice of analyzing a task and breaking it down into manageable chunks, establishing objectives, and measuring performance based on those objectives. Constructivism, on the other hand, promotes a more open-ended learning experience where the methods and results of learning are not easily measured and may not be the same for each learner.
While behaviorism and constructivism are very different theoretical perspectives, cognitivism shares some similarities with constructivism. An example of their compatibility is the fact that they share the analogy of comparing the processes of the mind to that of a computer. Consider the following statement by Perkins:
"...information processing models have spawned the computer model of the mind as an information processor. Constructivism has added that this information processor must be seen as not just shuffling data, but wielding it flexibly during learning -- making hypotheses, testing tentative interpretations, and so on." (Perkins, 1991, p.21 in Schwier, 1998 ).

Other examples of the link between cognitive theory and constructivism are:
• schema theory (Spiro, et al, 1991, in Schwier, 1998)
• connectionism (Bereiter, 1991, in Schwier, 1998)
• hypermedia (Tolhurst, 1992, in Schwier, 1998)
• multimedia (Dede, 1992, in Schwier, 1998)
Despite these similarities between cognitivism and constructivism, the objective side of cognitivism supported the use of models to be used in the systems approach of instructional design. Constructivism is not compatible with the present systems approach to instructional design, as Jonassen points out :
"The conundrum that constructivism poses for instructional designers, however, is that if each individual is responsible for knowledge construction, how can we as designers determine and insure a common set of outcomes for leaning, as we have been taught to do?" (Jonasson, [On-line])
In the same article, Jonassen (Jonasson, [On-line]) lists the following implications of constructivism for instructional design:
"...purposeful knowledge construction may be facilitated by learning environments which:
• Provide multiple representations of reality - avoid oversimplification of instruction by by representing the natural complexity of the world
• Present authentic tasks - contextualize
• Provide real-world, case-based learning environments, rather than pre-determined instructional sequences
• Foster reflective practice
• Enable context- and content-dependent knowledge construction
• Support collaborative construction of knowledge through social negotiation, not competition among learners for recognition
"Although we believe that constructivism is not a prescriptive theory of instruction, it should be possible to provide more explicit guidelines on how to design learning environments that foster constructivist learning"

Jonassen points out that the difference between constructivist and objectivist, (behavioral and cognitive), instructional design is that objective design has a predetermined outcome and intervenes in the learning process to map a pre-determined concept of reality into the learner's mind, while constructivism maintains that because learning outcomes are not always predictable, instruction should foster, not control, learning. With this in mind, Jonassen looks at the commonalties among constructivist approaches to learning to suggest a "model" for designing constructivist learning environments.
"...a constructivist design process should be concerned with designing environments which support the construction of knowledge, which ..."
• Is Based on Internal Negotiation
o a process of articulating mental models, using those models to explain, predict, and infer, and reflecting on their utility (Piaget's accommodation, Norman and Rumelhart's tuning and restructuring.)

• Is Based on Social Negotiation
o a process of sharing a reality with others using the same or similar processes to those used in internal negotiation
• Is Facilitated by Exploration of Real World Environments and Intervention of New Environments
o processes that are regulated by each individual's intentions, needs, and/or expectations
• Results in Mental Models and provides Meaningful, Authentic Contexts for Learning and Using the Constructed Knowledge
o should be supported by case-based problems which have been derived from and situated in the real world with all of its uncertainty and complexity and based on authentic realife practice
• Requires an Understanding of its Own Thinking Process and Problem Solving Methods
o problems in one context are different from problems in other contexts
• Modeled for Learners by Skilled Performers but Not Necessarily Expert Performers
• Requires Collaboration Among Learners and With the Teacher
o the teacher is more of a coach or mentor than a purveyor of knowledge
• Provides an Intellectual Toolkit to Facilitate an Internal Negotiation Necessary for Building Mental Models

(Jonasson, [On-line])
The technological advances of the 1980s and 1990s have enabled designers to move toward a more
constructivist approach to design of instruction. One of the most useful tools for the constructivist designer is hypertext and hypermedia because it allows for a branched design rather than a linear format of instruction. Hyperlinks allow for learner control which is crucial to constructivist learning; however, there is some concerns over the novice learner becoming "lost" in a sea of hypermedia. To address this concern, Jonassen and McAlleese (Jonnassen & McAlleese, [On-line]) note that each phase of knowledge acquisition requires different types of learning and that initial knowledge acquisition is perhaps best served by classical instruction with predetermined learning outcomes, sequenced instructional interaction and criterion-referenced evaluation while the more advanced second phase of knowledge acquisition is more suited to a constructivist environment.
If a novice learner is unable to establish an "anchor" in a hypermedia environment they may wander aimlessly through hypermedia becoming completely disoriented. Reigeluth and Chung suggest a prescriptive system which advocates increased learner control. In this method, students have some background knowledge and have been given some instruction in developing their own metacognitive strategies and have some way to return along the path they have taken, should they become "lost". (Davidson, 1998)
Most literature on constructivist design suggests that learners should not simply be let loose in a hypermedia or hypertext environment, but that a mix of old and new (objective and constructive) instruction/learning design be implemented. Davidson's (1998) article, suggesting a criteria for hypermedia learning based on an "exploration of relevant learning theories", is an example of this method.
Having noted the eclectic nature of instructional design, it is only fair to point out that not all theorists advocate a "mix and match" strategy for instructional design. Bednar, Cunningham, Duffy and Perry wrote an article that challenges the eclectic nature if instructional systems design by pointing out that "...abstracting concepts and strategies from the theoretical position that spawned then strips them of their meaning." They question objectivist epistemology completely and have adopted what they consider a constructivist approach to instructional design. In the article they compare the traditional approaches of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation to that of a constructivist approach. (Bednar, Cunningham, Duffy & Perry, 1995)
________________________________________

Learning Theories and the Practice of Instructional Design
What is the difference between the learning theories in terms of the practice of instructional design? Is one approach more easily achieved than another? To address this, one may consider that cognitive theory is the dominant theory in instructional design and many of the instructional strategies advocated and utilized by behaviorists are also used by cognitivists, but for different reasons. For example, behaviorists assess learners to determine a starting point for instruction, while cognitivists look at the learner to determine their predisposition to learning (Ertmer & Newby, 1993). With this in mind, the practice of instructional design can be viewed from a behaviorist/cognitivist approach as opposed to a constructivist approach.
When designing from a behaviorist/cognitivist stance, the designer analyzes the situation and sets a goal. Individual tasks are broken down and learning objectives are developed. Evaluation consists of determining whether the criteria for the objectives has been met. In this approach the designer decides what is important for the learner to know and attempts to transfer that knowledge to the learner. The learning package is somewhat of a closed system, since although it may allow for some branching and remediation, the learner is still confined to the designer's "world".
To design from a constructivist approach requires that the designer produces a product that is much more facilitative in nature than prescriptive. The content is not prespecified, direction is determined by the learner and assessment is much more subjective because it does not depend on specific quantitative criteria, but rather the process and self-evaluation of the learner. The standard pencil-and-paper tests of mastery learning are not used in constructive design; instead, evaluation is based on notes, early drafts, final products and journals. (Assessment [On-line])
Because of the divergent, subjective nature of constructive learning, it is easier for a designer to work from the systems, and thus the objective approach to instructional design. That is not to say that classical instructional design techniques are better than constructive design, but it is easier, less time consuming and most likely less expensive to design within a "closed system" rather than an "open" one. Perhaps there is some truth in the statement that "Constructivism is a 'learning theory', more than a 'teaching approach'." (Wilkinson, 1995)
________________________________________

Learning Theories - Some Strengths and Weaknesses
What are the perceived strengths and weaknesses of using certain theoretical approaches to instructional design?
Behaviorism
Weakness -the learner may find themselves in a situation where the stimulus for the correct response does not occur, therefore the learner cannot respond. - A worker who has been conditioned to respond to a certain cue at work stops production when an anomaly occurs because they do not understand the system.
Strength - the learner is focused on a clear goal and can respond automatically to the cues of that goal. - W.W.II pilots were conditioned to react to silhouettes of enemy planes, a response which one would hope became automatic.
Cognitivism
Weakness - the learner learns a way to accomplish a task, but it may not be the best way, or suited to the learner or the situation. For example, logging onto the internet on one computer may not be the same as logging in on another computer.
Strength - the goal is to train learners to do a task the same way to enable consistency. - Logging onto and off of a workplace computer is the same for all employees; it may be important do an exact routine to avoid problems.
Constructivism
Weakness - in a situation where conformity is essential divergent thinking and action may cause problems. Imagine the fun Revenue Canada would have if every person decided to report their taxes in their own way - although, there probably are some very "constructive" approaches used within the system we have.
Strength - because the learner is able to interpret multiple realities, the learner is better able to deal with real life situations. If a learner can problem solve, they may better apply their existing knowledge to a novel situation.

(Schuman, 1996)
________________________________________
Is There One Best Learning Theory for Instructional Design?
Why bother with Theory at all?
A solid foundation in learning theory is an essential element in the preparation of ISD professionals because it permeates all dimensions of ISD (Shiffman, 1995). Depending on the learners and situation, different learning theories may apply. The instructional designer must understand the strengths and weaknesses of each learning theory to optimize their use in appropriate instructional design strategy. Recipes contained in ID theories may have value for novice designers (Wilson, 1997), who lack the experience and expertise of veteran designers. Theories are useful because they open our eyes to other possibilities and ways of seeing the world. Whether we realize it or not, the best design decisions are most certainly based on our knowledge of learning theories.
An Eclectic Approach to Theory in Instructional Design
The function of ID is more of an application of theory, rather than a theory itself. Trying to tie Instructional Design to one particular theory is like school vs. the real world. What we learn in a school environment does not always match what is out there in the real world, just as the prescriptions of theory do not always apply in practice, (the real world). From a pragmatic point of view, instructional designers find what works and use it.
What Works and How Can We Use It?
Behaviorism, cognitivism and constructivism - what works where and how do we knit everything together to at least give ourselves some focus in our approach to instructional design? First of all we do not need to abandon the systems approach but we must modify it to accommodate constructivist values. We must allow circumstances surrounding the learning situation to help us decide which approach to learning is most appropriate. It is necessary to realize that some learning problems require highly prescriptive solutions, whereas others are more suited to learner control of the environment. (Schwier, 1995)
Jonnassen in Manifesto for a Constructive Approach to Technology in Higher Education ([On-line]) identified the following types of learning and matched them with what he believes to be appropriate learning theory approaches.
1. Introductory Learning - learners have very little directly transferable prior knowledge about a skill or content area. They are at the initial stages of schema assembly and integration. At this stage classical instructional design is most suitable because it is predetermined, constrained, sequential and criterion-referenced. The learner can develop some anchors for further exploration.
2. Advanced Knowledge Acquisition - follows introductory knowledge and precedes expert knowledge. At this point constructivist approaches may be introduced.
3. Expertise is the final stage of knowledge acquisition. In this stage the learner is able to make intelligent decisions within the learning environment. A constructivist approach would work well in this case.
Having pointed out the different levels of learning, Jonassen stresses that it is still important to consider the context before recommending any specific methodology.
Reigeluth's Elaboration Theory which organizes instruction in increasing order of complexity and moves from prerequisite learning to learner control may work in the eclectic approach to instructional design, since the learner can be introduced to the main concepts of a course and then move on to more of a self directed study that is meaningful to them and their particular context.
After having compared and contrasted behaviorism, cognitivism and constructivism, Ertmer and Newby (1993) feel that the instructional approach used for novice learners may not be efficiently stimulating for a learner who is familiar with the content. They do not advocate one single learning theory, but stress that instructional strategy and content addressed depend on the level of the learners. Similar to Jonassen, they match learning theories with the content to be learned:
... a behavioral approach can effectively facilitate mastery of the content of a
profession (knowing what); cognitive strategies are useful in teaching problem
-solving tactics where defined facts and rules are applied in unfamiliar situations
(knowing how); and constructivist strategies are especially suited to dealing with
ill-defined problems through reflection-in-action. (Ertmer P. & Newby, T., 1993)

Behavioral
... tasks requiring a low degree of processing (e.g., basic paired associations,
discriminations, rote memorization) seem to be facilitated by strategies most
frequently associated with a behavioral outlook (e.g., stimulus-response, contiguity
of feedback/reinforcement).

Cognitive
Tasks requiring an increased level of processing (e.g., classifications, rule or
procedural executions) are primarily associated with strategies
having a stronger cognitive emphasis (e.g., schematic organization, analogical
reasoning, algorithmic problem solving).
Constructive
Tasks demanding high levels of processing (e.g., heuristic problem solving,
personal selection and monitoring of cognitive strategies) are frequently
est learned with strategies advanced by the constructivist perspective (e.g.,
situated learning, cognitive apprenticeships, social negotiation.

(Ertmer P. & Newby, T., 1993)
Ertmer and Newby (1993) believe that the strategies promoted by different learning theories overlap (the same strategy for a different reason) and that learning theory strategies are concentrated along different points of a continuum depending of the focus of the learning theory - the level of cognitive processing required.


Ertmer and Newby's suggestion that theoretical strategies can complement the learner's level of task knowledge, allows the designer to make the best use of all available practical applications of the different learning theories. With this approach the designer is able to draw from a large number of strategies to meet a variety of learning situations.

________________________________________
Conclusion
Upon completion of this site on learning theories and instructional design, I have not only accomplished my objective, but gained insight and appreciation for the different learning theories and their possible application to instructional design.
It was interesting for me to find that I am not alone in my perspective regarding learning theories and instructional design. There is a place for each theory within the practice of instructional design, depending upon the situation and environment. I especially favor the idea of using an objective approach to provide the learner with an "anchor" before they set sail on the open seas of knowledge. A basic understanding of the material in question provides the learner with a guiding compass for further travel.
Another consideration is the distinction between "training" and "education". In today's competitive business world, the instructional designer may be required to establish and meet the objectives of that business. On the other hand, in a school setting, the designer may be challenged to provide material that fosters an individual to find divergent approaches to problem solving. Whichever situation the instructional designer finds themselves in, they will require a thorough understanding of learning theories to enable them to provide the appropriate learning environment.
Finally, though Instructional Design may have a behaviorist tradition, new insights to the learning process continue to replace, change and alter the process. Advancements in technology make branched constructivist approaches to learning possible. Whether designing for training or education, the instructional designer's toolbox contains an ever changing and increasing number of theoretical applications and physical possibilities. With intelligent application of learning theory strategies and technology, the modern designer will find solutions to the learning requirements of the 21st century.


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**Web addresses updated Feb. 5, 2001. Some sites seem to be no longer available, but I am searching for them.
References & Bibliography
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Conmstructivism, some theory aspects

Constructivist teaching methods are based on the constructivist learning theory developed by a variety of philosophers. Along with John Dewey, Piaget researched childhood development and education. Their theories are now encompassed in the broader movement of progressive education.
The constructivist learning theory says that children learn best when they construct a personal understanding based on experiencing things and reflecting on those experiences.
Constructivist teaching strategies
Characteristics of Constructivist Teaching
One of the primary goals of using constructivist teaching is that students learn how to learn by giving them the training to take initiative for their own learning experiences.
According to Audrey Gray, the characteristics of a constructivist classroom are as follows:the learners are actively involved the environment is democratic the activities are interactive and student-centered the teacher facilitates a process of learning in which students are encouraged to be responsible and autonomous
Examples of constructivist activities
Furthermore, in the constructivist classroom, students work primarily in groups and learning and knowledge are interactive and dynamic. There is a great focus and emphasis on social and communication skills, as well as collaboration and exchange of ideas. This is contrary to the traditional classroom in which students work primarily alone, learning is achieved through repetition, and the subjects are strictly adhered to and are guided by a textbook. Some activities encouraged in constructivist classrooms are:Experimentation: students individually perform an experiment and then come together as a class to discuss the results. Research projects: students research a topic and can present their findings to the class. Field trips. This allows students to put the concepts and ideas discussed in class in a real-world context. Field trips would often be followed by class discussions. Films. These provide visual context and thus bring another sense into the learning experience. Class discussions. This technique is used in all of the methods described above. It is one of the most important distinctions of constructivist teaching methods
Role of teachers
In the constructivist classroom, the teacher’s role is to prompt and facilitate discussion. Thus, the teacher’s main focus should be on guiding students by asking questions that will lead them to develop their own conclusions on the subject.
David Jonassen identified three major roles for facilitators to support students in constructivist learning environments:Modeling Coaching Scaffolding
Constructivist Learning Environments (CLEs)
Jonassen has proposed a model for developing constructivist learning environments (CLEs) around a specific learning goal. This goal may take one of several forms, from least to most complex:Question or issue Case study Long-term Project Problem (multiple cases and projects integrated at the curriculum level)
Jonassen recommends making the learning goals engaging and relevant but not overly structured.
Learning is driven in CLEs by the problem to be solved; students learn content and theory in order to solve the problem. This is different from traditional objectivist teaching where the theory would be presented first and problems would be used afterwards to practice theory.
Depending on students' prior experiences, related cases and scaffolding may be necessary for support. Instructors also need to provide an authentic context for tasks, plus information resources, cognitive tools, and collaborative tools.
Constructivist assessment
Traditionally, assessment in the classrooms is based on testing. In this style, it is important for the student to produce the correct answers. However, in constructivist teaching, the process of gaining knowledge is viewed as being just as important as the product. Thus, assessment is based not only on tests, but also on observation of the student, the student’s work, and the student’s points of view [2]. Some assessment strategies include:Oral discussions. The teacher presents students with a “focus” question and allows an open discussion on the topic. KWL(H) Chart (What we know, What we want to know, What we have learned, How we know it). This technique can be used throughout the course of study for a particular topic, but is also a good assessment technique as it shows the teacher the progress of the student throughout the course of study. Mind Mapping. In this activity, students list and categorize the concepts and ideas relating to a topic. Hands-on activities. These encourage students to manipulate their environments or a particular learning tool. Teachers can use a checklist and observation to assess student success with the particular material. Pre-testing. This allows a teacher to determine what knowledge students bring to a new topic and thus will be helpful in directing the course of study.[3]
An example of a Lesson Taught with a Constructivist background
A good example of a lesson being taught in a constructivist way, with the teacher mediating learning rather than directly teaching the class is shown by the example of Faraday's candle. There are various forms of this lesson, but all are developed from the Christmas lectures Faraday gave on the functioning of candles. In open constructivist lessons using these lectures as a basis, students are encouraged to discover for themselves how candles work. They do this first by making simple observations, from which they later build ideas and hypotheses which they then go on to test. The teachers acts to encourage this learning. If successful, students can use this lesson to understand the components of combustion—an important chemical topic.[5]
Arguments against constructivist teaching techniquesMain article: Constructivism (learning theory)
A wide variety of authors from many fields have voiced the following arguments against constructivist based teaching instruction:A group of cognitive scientists has also questioned the central claims of constructivism, saying that they are either misleading or contradict known findings.[6] One possible deterrent for this teaching method is that, due to the emphasis on group work, the ideas of the more active students may dominate the group’s conclusions.[2]
While proponents of constructivism argue that constructivist students perform better than their peers when tested on higher-order reasoning, the critics of constructivism argue that this teaching technique forces students to "reinvent the wheel." Supporters counter that "Students do not reinvent the wheel but, rather, attempt to understand how it turns, how it functions."[2] Proponents argue that students — especially elementary school-aged children — are naturally curious about the world, and giving them the tools to explore it in a guided manner will serve to give them a stronger understanding of it[2].
Mayer (2004)[7] developed a literature review spanning fifty years and concluded "The research in this brief review shows that the formula constructivism = hands-on activity is a formula for educational disaster." His argument is that active learning is often suggested by those subscribing to this philosophy. In developing this instruction these educators produce materials that require learning to be behaviorally active and not be "cognitively active."[7] That is, although they are engaged in activity, they may not be learning (Sweller, 1988). Mayer recommends using guided discovery, a mix of direct instruction and hands-on activity, rather than pure discovery: "In many ways, guided discovery appears to offer the best method for promoting constructivist learning."[7]
Kirchner et al (2006) agree with the basic premise of constructivism, that learners construct knowledge, but are concerned with the instructional design recommendations of this theoretical framework. "The constructivist description of learning is accurate, but the instructional consequences suggested by constructivists do not necessarily follow." (Kirschner, Sweller, and Clark, 2006, p. 78). Specifically, they say instructors often design unguided instruction that relies on the learner to "discover or construct essential information for themselves" (Kirchner et al, 2006, p75).
For this reason they state that it "is easy to agree with Mayer’s (2004)[7] recommendation that we “move educational reform efforts from the fuzzy and nonproductive world of ideology—which sometimes hides under the various banners of constructivism—to the sharp and productive world of theory- based research on how people learn” (p. 18). Finally Kirschner, Sweller, and Clark (2006) cite Mayer[7] to conclude fifty years of empirical results do not support unguided instruction.

philosophy and its branches

Philosophy and it branches.

Philosophy is the word derived from two Greek words, philo and Sophia. The terms respectively mean love and wisdom. Hence, etymologically, philosophy means love of wisdom.
Philosophy has three major branches or areas. They are a. epistemology, b. axiology, c. metaphysics.

Epistemology is the science of knowledge. The are of philosophy deals with all aspects of knowledge like what is knowledge, how knowledge different from information, what are the types of knowledge, how knowledge originates, so and so.

Axiology is the science of values. This are of philosophy deals with what are the values, how value originates and came to existence, what are the different values… so and so.

Metaphysics is the science of reality. It deals with the quest what is really real… reality and appearance, what is realty, what are the type of reality assessment.. so snd so are the area of this branch.

NOAM Chomsky and the world

Sunday, October 05, 2008
Abstracts



National Seminar on



Noam Chomsky

And

The Contemporary World

22-24 September 2008



Dr. P. Kesava Kumar
Coordinator


Organized by
Department of Philosophy
Pondicherry University
Puducherry
&
Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL)
Mysore





Chomskyan Cognitivism and Linguistic:
Irreproachable Ideals for Restructuring the Educational Directions
Sankaranarayanan Paleeri, Lecturer in Education, NSS Training College,
Ottappalam, Kerala.
email: paleeri@gmail.com, paleeri@yahoo.co.in
ph: 09946681761, 09447843559

This paper makes an attempt to highlight the significance of Chomskyan concepts of linguistic and cognitivism in restructuring educational ideals and directions. His specific views on educational aspects are the need of the hour in education scenario especially in the context of globalization.
Chomsky’s 1959 review of B. F. Skinner’s Verbal Behavior challenged the behaviorist approaches to studies of behavior and language dominant at the time and contributed to the cognitive revolution in psychology. It has been claimed that Chomsky’s analysis of Skinner's methodology and basic assumptions paved the way for the “cognitive revolution” in teaching methods and learning. His naturalistic approach to the study of language has affected the philosophy of language and mind. He focused on questions concerning the operation and development of innate structures for syntax capable of creatively organizing, cohering, adapting and combining language components.
These reflections and findings of Chomsky were supported the restructuring of classroom teaching-learning process not only in language but also in science and humanity subjects. His suggestions scaffold the adoption of innovative pupil centered methods including constructivist approaches in classroom teaching.
In his educational concerns based on linguistic, cognitivism and political theory, Chomsky has come out with specific views zeroed in on theory of value, knowledge, human nature, learning, transmission, society, opportunity and consensus. Certain aspects of knowledge and understanding are innate and knowledge is not explainable in terms of skills, habits, or dispositions. Human nature can create adverse and immoral effects on social life and also has the capacity to lead to selflessness and cooperation and sacrifice and support and solidarity, too. Humans can learn through a tough process of controlled inquiry and experimentation. Learning has to come from the inside. According to his theory of consensus, the person who makes the more convincing argument, assuming rationality, should convince the others.
All these views show clear-cut support for restructuring educational directions and execution of innovative changes in education in the aspects like planning of education, administration, curriculum, methods, organizing text book, classroom teaching and managing school atmosphere.








Chomsky and Foucault: A Study in the Clash of Two Paradigms

Dr. B. Tirupati Rao, Associate Professor, Dept. of English and Communications, Dravidian University, Kuppam- 517 425, A.P.

Among the debates that took place in the 1970s, the one between Chomsky and Foucault is the pertinent one as it focuses on the vital issues of the century and the two major thinkers had deliberated upon the two diametrically opposing visions. The debate is enormously important for two reasons. First, it represents a forum for contradictory philosophical positions. Chomsky argues for a political structure founded upon a biological theory of how humans actually are, regardless of historical and environmental conditioning. Foucault on the other hand, stress that such a position is both morally and politically dangerous because biology and linguistics are historical, discursive constructs tied to power. Second and perhaps more importantly, both Chomsky and Foucault are political activists attempting to dismantle conservative epistemic structures.

For Chomsky, the ultimate justification for resistance to the current political system is that it represses our fundamental needs and does not allow for these vital needs to flourish and hence cannot be justified intrinsically. Foucault, on the other hand, finds some epistemological problem in the arguments of Chomsky. Foucault’s principal objection to Chomsky’s vision is that it is politically dangerous. The reason, quite simply, is that to advocate protesting, resisting and fighting, in the name of higher ideal, may morally and politically disastrous. For to fight in the name of something higher than ourselves and even our communities, may lead to the sacrifice of those very things that we hold most precious- those very things that we fight and even die for.

This paper tries to make a comparative analysis of these two contradictory visions with an intention to find whether there is any possibility of merging the two so as to evolve somewhat holistic approach.

An Examination of Chomsky’s Dissection of American Global Politics
And the Double speak of Mass Media

Ms. Sharada Mani .N ,Assistant Professor ,Department of English and Communications
Dravidian University, Kuppam - 517425

Noam Chomsky is one of the contemporary intellectuals who established his fame by his outstanding and unique contribution to linguistics which proved to be a turning point in the study of the discipline, no less than that of Ferdinand Sassure .To a majority of educated people he is known as a brilliant linguist but what many are not aware of is the constant intellectual public battle that he wages against any of the oppression ,exploitation and dehumanization that government indulges from time to time under the legitimized pretext of “for reasons of the state’’. The present hegemonic policies and global politics of the U.S. being one instance. He is a trenchant critic of American imperial ambition to control, reshape, regiment and monolithize non-American cultures on the model of its own culture and way of life not with any noble or altruistic motive but to induce its values of commercialization on other cultures in order to remote control them because ultimately culture is power .The mass media both printed and electronic play a collusive and conspiratorial role in generating the necessary myths and illusions suited to ruling class interests , censored, tailored and carefully purveyed by spin-doctors and self styled experts. He presents the darker and diabolic side of American violence, cruelty and crimes which present people of other nations and cultures as enemies of freedom and happiness and who are desperately bent upon destroying American way of life. This kind of black and white polarization mediated through mass media succeeds in fabricating public consent to the un-democratic and fascist policies pursued by power mongerers, the recent Iraq invasion being an instance of the unholy alliance between political power , oil lobby and arms industry. The purpose of the paper is to examine the sustained intellectual battle waged by Chomsky with documented evidence which he presents in a series of books like ‘American power and the new Mandarins’, ‘For reasons of the state’ and ‘Necessary illusion’ to unfold the hegemonic ,arrogant and intolerant mindset of American ruling class which is bent upon Americanizing the world in the name of globalization.


The Metaphysical and Aesthetic Implications of
Chomsky’s Linguistic Theories
Dr. Murali Sivaramakrishnan ,.Professor ,Department of English, Pondicherry University, Pondicherry.

Noam Chomsky’s renown is certainly more far-reaching than mere recognition within his own chosen field of specialization—Linguistics. If his profound and timely responses and interventions as an outspoken, left-leaning liberal intellectual in political (especially that which involves his mother country—USA), social, ideological, and philosophical spheres are anything to go by to gauge his international fame, Chomsky, no doubt, is among the leading intellectuals of the present day world. He single-handedly wrought a revolution within behaviourist empiricism by leading it very craftily towards a structuralist cognitivism.

Chomsky’s postulations of Competence and Performance (cf. with Saussure’s langue and parole) have, as I would argue in my presentation, tremendous importance in our understanding of the world (as I and Thou)—which would account for their significance in our epistemology, and further as I would lead on to argue, have very deep metaphysical implications—ie., in how we make sense of what we sense. When one considers the discipline of creativity and artistic creation, from the point of view of Chomsky’s formulation of the cognitive capacity of human beings, linguistic freedom and creativity are not some faculty that is acquired, but something that always already exists as a governing a-prioi.


Noam Chomsky on (Socially) Just Society
Dr. Prashant P. Bansode ,Department of Sociology ,University of Mumbai, Mumbai
Dr. P. Moorthy ,Dept of Politics and International Studies , Pondicherry University, Puducherry

Noam Chomsky is acknowledged as the father of modern linguistics. He is also widely known as political dissident, an anarchist and a libertarian socialist intellectual. As a liberal socialist intellectual his roots lie in classical liberalism that he applies in the era of advanced industrial society.
Libertarian socialism propagates creation of a just society, which is devoid of political, economic and social hierarchies where the coercive institutions and hierarchies are drastically reduced. It entails practically dismantling of illegitimate authority. Thus they believe that equality and freedom can be achieved by abolition of authoritarian institutions that own and control productive means and resources. The libertarian socialist propagates that means of production and resources would be shared by working class and society as a whole. Most importantly the libertarian socialism advocate doing away with the state altogether and relying on trade unions, worker’s council, municipalities and non-bureaucratic decentralized means of action and thus advocate anarchism.
Noam Chomsky is critical of American capitalist system and is sympathizer of anarco-syndicalism. On the other hand he is also critical of Leninist branches of socialism. He believes that society should be highly organized and based on democratic control of communities and work places. His ideas of libertarian socialism has come from two major influences Bertrand Russell and John Dewy who belonged to classical liberal tradition but had radical humanist ideas. Thus he retains their revolutionary character.
Here Noam Chomsky’s ideas of power and wage slavery are important to understand the social process of exclusion in society. This paper tries to understand these key ideas. Also here the attempt is made to understand Noam Chomsky as a proponent of libertarian socialism and his quest for creating a society based on freedom and social justice.

Manufacturing Consent by Delegitimising Dissents:
Kerala’s Left and Chengara Land Struggle

Jenson Joseph, Research Scholar, Department of Mass Communication
University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad.

This paper is about the malicious campaigns that the ruling Left government and its media carried out against a land struggle by the landless, majority of which are Dalits and adivasis, in Chengara in the south eastern district of Pathanamthitta in Kerala. Looking at the patterns of representation in the Left media of the struggle, its demands and its supporters, the paper would analyse how the Left parties in Kerala maintain a hegemonic dominance of class-based political movements in the region by delegtimising any social movement that are formed outside the domain of such a political ideology. The Chengara land struggle, along with similar struggles being waged mostly by Adivasis and Dalits in various parts of the state, can be seen as part of the new social movements that herald an important transformation in the dominant modes of political engagements in the region/country, which are either class-based or nationalist in nature. The land struggle is also significant because the protestors, mostly Dalits and Adivasis who live in small colonies under scarce living conditions, are demanding economic equality by laying claim on the right to own cultivable land, and refusing to remain mute recipients of ‘minimum entitlements.’ The left media termed the demands of the protesters at Chengara as ‘unacceptable’ and ‘illegal’, trying to prove that the struggle was supported and funded by Maoists, Naxalites and even CIA. It also termed the civil societal attempts to support the struggle as part of “a grand coalition of neo-liberal forces against Communism.” The indifference of the media in general towards the land struggle is clearly evident in the fact that almost all news items regarding the struggle was either about the ‘hostile conditions that the protestors are facing’, ‘the atrocities against the protestors’, or the routine versions from the government. The apathy of the media towards Chengara land struggle shows media’s inability to come to terms with the political ethos that a social movement like this brings forth. It is by holding on to the value of “neutrality” – supposedly one of the major ‘prerequisite’ for media practice – that the mainstream media refuse to engage with the new social movements like Chengara land struggle and their demands.

The paper would also suggest that there are crucial links between the emergence of identity-based social movements like Chengara struggle and the anxieties evident in the recent controversy about part of a revised text book introduced by the current left government in Kerala, as well as the CPI (M)’s decision to organise a ‘State Convention of Scheduled Castes’ in Kochi recently.


Chomskyan Analysis of Edward Said’s Orientalism
Dr. Azhagarsan, Department of English ,University of Madras, Chennai
This paper focuses on the multidisciplinary assumptions of Chomsky’s linguistics, especially his Syntactic Structures and attempts a Chomskyan analysis of Edward Said’s Orientalism. It tries to highlight how Chomsky’s Syntactic Structures that deals with the surface and deep structures has anticipated some of the findings of works belonging to different disciplines. It also analyses how Orientalism, a critique of power/knowledge and the western conception of knowledge has the resonance of Chomsky’s syntactic structures which reveals the embedded and implied power of discourse. This, in turn helps to situate his research on linguistic structures and their innate relationship to his political activism and his media criticism. This kind of an analysis contextualizes the significance and relevance of Chomsky’s linguistics which lends itself to a post-structural reading of texts.



Chomskyan Cognitivism and Linguistic:
Irreproachable Ideals for Restructuring the Educational Directions
Sankaranarayanan Paleeri, Lecturer in Education, NSS Training College,
Ottappalam, Kerala.

This paper makes an attempt to highlight the significance of Chomskyan concepts of linguistic and cognitivism in restructuring educational ideals and directions. His specific views on educational aspects are the need of the hour in education scenario especially in the context of globalization.
Chomsky’s 1959 review of B. F. Skinner’s Verbal Behavior challenged the behaviorist approaches to studies of behavior and language dominant at the time and contributed to the cognitive revolution in psychology. It has been claimed that Chomsky’s analysis of Skinner's methodology and basic assumptions paved the way for the “cognitive revolution” in teaching methods and learning. His naturalistic approach to the study of language has affected the philosophy of language and mind. He focused on questions concerning the operation and development of innate structures for syntax capable of creatively organizing, cohering, adapting and combining language components.
These reflections and findings of Chomsky were supported the restructuring of classroom teaching-learning process not only in language but also in science and humanity subjects. His suggestions scaffold the adoption of innovative pupil centered methods including constructivist approaches in classroom teaching.
In his educational concerns based on linguistic, cognitivism and political theory, Chomsky has come out with specific views zeroed in on theory of value, knowledge, human nature, learning, transmission, society, opportunity and consensus. Certain aspects of knowledge and understanding are innate and knowledge is not explainable in terms of skills, habits, or dispositions. Human nature can create adverse and immoral effects on social life and also has the capacity to lead to selflessness and cooperation and sacrifice and support and solidarity, too. Humans can learn through a tough process of controlled inquiry and experimentation. Learning has to come from the inside. According to his theory of consensus, the person who makes the more convincing argument, assuming rationality, should convince the others.
All these views show clear-cut support for restructuring educational directions and execution of innovative changes in education in the aspects like planning of education, administration, curriculum, methods, organizing text book, classroom teaching and managing school atmosphere.

Noam Chomsky: Ideas and Ideals

Dr. S. Indira ,Reader in Philosophy, Pondicherry University ,Pondicherry

Noam Chomsky is one the leading intellectual figures of the modern times. He is famous for his contribution towards linguistics, Philosophy and other fields. He is a pioneer in the field of Psycho linguistics. He wanted to establish a new relationship between linguistics and psychology. He has shown that though there is immense complexity of the innumerable languages, there is only one human language. All of them are the variations of the one single theme. He has revolutionized linguistics. He also made analysis on the study of language and mind. He is best known for the linguistic theorizing and deep surface structure. He worked for the fundamental change towards our thinking. He also worked for the society based on cooperation. In this context I am presenting a paper on Chomsky’s ideas on Anarchism. He is a thinker and an independent critic. He wrote a famous essay by name, “The Objectivity and Liberal Scholarship”….Access to power and professionalism. It poses a serious threat to the integrity of scholarship in the fields that are struggling for intellectual content and also to the society at large. He believed that the best way to maximize our genetically endowed freedom is through Anarchism.

UNDERSTANDING HUMAN NATURE:
CHOMSKY, FOUCAULT AND HABERMAS


Rekha G Menon, Research Scholar (Philosophy), Dept. of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai -36, rekhagmenon@gmail.com
Dr. N Sreekumar Assistant Professor (Philosophy), Dept. of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai -36, srkumar@iitm.ac.in

Chomsky is well known for his critical attitude towards the postmodern philosophies. Focusing issues related to this covered in the famous Chomsky-Foucault debate, this paper tries to elucidate the basic difference in their understanding of human nature. On the other hand, Habermas argues for a certain fundamental structure that draws inspiration from Chomsky’s Generative Grammar. This paper tries to arrive at an understanding of the concept of human nature these philosophies advocate.

End of Ordinary Language Philosophy: Reviewing Chomskyan Stance

Dr. Vikram S. Sirola, Asst. Professor, IIT Bombay

Ordinary Language Philosophy (OLP) deliberates on the details and nuances of everyday linguistic practices. Their method of philosophizing evolves from the assumption that philosophical problems are rooted in misunderstanding the actual use of words in everyday language. These problems were seen to be either solvable or dissolvable by reference to ordinary practices in the larger context of human life and action. Though this tradition provided new tools for dealing with philosophical problems, and a sensibility to linguistic distinctions but as philosophical method it faced several criticisms. OLP holds that Language is governed by rules which are conventional (Wittgenstein), it is ‘learnt’ (Quine, Strawson, Dummett). Chomsky rejects this view and proposes his notion of ‘universal grammar’ which he claims is innate and part of our biological endowment. Language, accordingly, is not learnt but ‘acquired’. This gave rise to the debate between the ‘conventional view’ and ‘innate view’ of language’ which has occupied the centre stage in philosophy and linguistics. The paper looks into the debate and attempts to review the objections raised by Chomsky against OLP. Recognizing the importance of some of his remarks I shall also evaluate whether his criticism amounts to a complete dismissal of OLP or can it be taken to further OLP towards a better understanding of the nature of language and mind.

Noam Chomsky: Critique of American Foreign Policy

Dr. B. Krishnamurthy, Reader, Department of Politics and International Studies
Pondicherry University, PUDUCHERRY – 605 014.

The USA is labelled as the sole Super Power, a Hyper Power and an Omni Power in international politics and is criticised for its ambitions, arrogance, unilateralism and contempt for International Organisations. The declaration of the National Securities Strategy, September 17, 2002 announced very clearly and explicitly that the United States, at least the Bush administration, intends to dominate the world permanently, if necessary, through the use of force. Accordingly, the U.S. government arrogates to itself the right to attack any country it wants without credible pretext or without any international authorization. In fact, the National Security Strategy doesn't even mention international law and the Charter of the United Nations. Such a stand is welcomed and supported by the Neo-conservatives and Realists who go to the extent of maintaining that it is quite natural for a preponderant power to behave so.

Noam Chomsky is highly critical of such a stand in his writings and speeches. He questions the rationale behind the American foreign policy. He has criticised the American war on Vietnam earlier and on Iraq now. Through his highly analytical and objective approach he has successfully brought forth the fact that President Bush is bigger and more dangerous terrorist than Saddam Hussein and the US is a ‘terrorist state’. He has also exposed the hollowness of Bush’s claim that the US and Britain “share a mission in the world beyond the balance of power or the simple pursuit of interest” and “seek the advance of freedom and the peace that freedom brings” and pooh-poohs the claim that the American foreign policy is ‘value-ridden’ and ‘value-driven’.


Chomsky’s Perspectives on Contemporary International Relations

Dr. K. M. Parivelan , Information Officer,UNDP, Chennai

This paper covers range of Chomsky’s political perspectives including some of his views on contemporary international relations. It is indeed useful to analyse the theoretical and philosophical framework he employs in all of his political writings, which is by and large underpinned by libertarian socialism. The core of that view is based on balancing and coexistence of liberty and equality in the realm of human nature as well as international politics. For Chomsky, the classic liberal tradition, with its roots in the enlightenment and its emphasis on freedom, is central in any definition of libertarian socialism. He perceives that if our society nurtured our creative potentials, our human nature would not quest for autonomy and self-determination, but rather ‘cooperative interdependence’, which is quite relevant prism to view the challenges emanating from globalisation and contemporary international politics. It is indeed interesting to note that Chomsky’s methodology is to probe the policies, testing for consistency and with reference to what he believes is good for the world. It is the systematic maintenance of the logical connection in his theory between his hopeful view of human need, his view of the good society, and his critique of existing trends in international relations. He has also been alleged by his ardent critics for mixing ‘reasoned analyses’ and ‘fabricating evidences’. Attempt will be made here to unravel this controversy vis-à-vis his views and perspectives on contemporary international relations.
CHOMSKY’S ANALYSIS OF TERRORISM
Dr. R Murali , Head, Department of Philosophy ,The Madurai College, Madurai-11
Beginning with the fundamental principle that the exercise of violence against civilian populations is terror, regardless of whether the perpetrator is an underground network of Muslim extremists or the most powerful state in the world, Chomsky in stark and uncompromising terms, challenges the United States to apply to itself the moral standards it demands of others. Chomsky reviews the history of war crimes and delivers his now famous analysis of the double standards and hypocrisy of Western Governments and the role of the media and intellectuals.
Referring to military attacks by the United States on Nicaragua, he addressed the issue of definition of terrorism. He claims that he understood the term "terrorism" exactly as it is defined in official U.S. documents: the calculated use of violence or the threat of violence to obtain objectives of a political, religious or ideological nature. Further, he observes that this is carried out through intimidation, coercion, or instilling fear.
As regards support for condemnation of terrorism, Chomsky opines that terrorism (and violence/authority in general) is generally bad and can only be justified in those cases where it is clear that greater terrorism (or violence, or abuse of authority) is thus avoided. In a debate on the legitimacy of political violence in 1967, Chomsky argued that the "terror" of the Vietnam National Liberation Front (Viet Cong) was not justified, but that terror could in theory be justified under certain circumstances Chomsky believes that acts he considers terrorism carried out by the U.S. government do not pass this test, and condemnation of U.S. policy is one of the main thrusts of his writings which he has explained is because he lives in the United States, and thus holds a responsibility for his country's actions.
He called the September 11 disaster “a historic event,” not because of its scale but because of the nature of the event itself. “This is the first time since 1814 where a national territory of United States is being attacked,” he said. “The guns have always been directed the other way.”
Chomsky pointed out that although most of the people in the Middle East and Islamic countries strongly disagree with Bin Laden’s terrorist actions, they certainly recognize and agree with some of his reasons for hating the United States. “They see America responsible for the death of thousands of Iraqis, for the suffering of Palestinians and for the policies which prevent economic development in these countries,” he said.

Though Chomsky claims that he does not ‘do’ any theory, that he does not have a theory, it can be argued that Chomsky’s approach does amount to a theory. In conventional political theory terms, it is neither conservative, liberal, socialist, Marxist nor libertarian. Neither is he a social constructivist, a post-structuralist or indeed a postmodernist. Nevertheless, his works rest on a theory, which logically correlates a critique of the present, a conception of the future good society, and notions of how to get there. Not only does Chomsky have a political theory, but he also openly and resolutely admits the variable of human nature, which for most social and political theorists remains only implicit.

Though it looks Chomsky is not constructing his theory with a sound methodology, one can find the rationalist tradition runs through his analysis. A self-avowed believer in "Cartesian common sense," the scientific method laid out by Descartes, Chomsky applies the following methodological rules - as described in David Cogswell's Chomsky for Beginners - in thinking logically towards reliable conclusions: "Accept only clear and distinct ideas. Break each problem into as many parts as necessary to solve it. Work from the simple to the complex. Always check for mistakes." His analytic technique has also been described as "the classic academician's accumulation of massive documentation, relying both on standard references and on sources that are frequently ignored by mainstream commentators and historians," with the method flavoured by the use of irony.

Chomsky describes himself as a libertarian socialist. He prefers this term to the more ambiguous term anarchism to distinguish himself from right wing and/or relativist versions. For Chomsky, the classic liberal tradition, with its roots in the Enlightenment and its emphasis on freedom, is central in any definition of libertarian socialism. Indeed he argues ‘[i]f one were to see a single dominant idea, within the anarchist tradition, that might be defined as ‘libertarian socialist,’ it should be liberty’. However, for Chomsky, freedom is not central because his view of human nature involves a quest for autonomy, self-ownership and atomism, so typical of liberal and much libertarian thought. For Chomsky, the fundamental characteristic of human nature is creativity. It follows, for him, that human beings require conditions of freedom in order to cultivate their naturally creative capacities. These creative capacities do not in turn manufacture a need for autonomy and self-determination; rather they foster and demand the possibility of cooperative, interdependent mutuality. In other words, if our society nurtured our creative potentials, our human nature would not quest for autonomy and self-determination, but rather cooperative interdependence. Thus for Chomsky, liberty is the means by which we can achieve a non-statist socialist end.

Critical of the American capitalist system and big business, as a libertarian socialist he sympathizes with anarcho-syndicalism and is highly critical of Leninist branches of socialism. He also believes that libertarian socialist values exemplify the rational and morally consistent extension of original unreconstructed classical liberal and radical humanist ideas to an industrial context. Specifically he believes that society should be highly organized and based on democratic control of communities and work places. He believes that the radical humanist ideas of his two major influences, Bertrand Russell and John Dewey, were "rooted in the Enlightenment and classical liberalism, and retain their revolutionary character."
Despite his often distressing examination of the abuses of American power, Chomsky’s disposition is bright and his outlook is hopeful. He ends most speeches with a review of how much has been achieved by popular activism over the past several decades and how social change remains well within our grasp. Answer to the question that what one person do, one statement of Noam Chomsky’s cuts through a world of complexities and helps counteract the feeling of powerlessness that falls upon people trying to do the right thing in complex and dangerous world. Chomsky asks the intellectual to train their main so that they will not be duped. Ask them to practice critical thinking and asking questions. He considers the passive acceptance as a dangerous habit. He says that every day offers opportunities to exercise the critical faculties and pay attention to what is really being said and what is really happening. If attention is being paid to what is being heard and who is paying bills. He tells that human being are endowed with awesome capacities for perceiving and understanding their environment and those capacities are never more powerful than when they are engaged in survival. When you realize that your survival may be at stake, your energies focus. If you listen carefully and exercise you critical faculties, you can greatly enhance your changes of survival. Or you can choose to just play the game so that you stay in good with the power brokers. But who knows when it’s your turn to become part of the forgotten and abandoned ones?
Intellectuals are in a position to expose the lies of governments, to analyse actions according to their causes and motives and often hidden intentions. In the Western world, at least, they have the power that comes from political liberty, from access to information and freedom of expression. For a privileged minority, Western democracy provides the leisure, the facilities and the training to seek the truth lying hidden behind the veil of distortion and misrepresentation, ideology and class interest, through which the events of current history are presented to us... It is the responsibility of intellectuals to speak the truth and to expose lies... it is also his duty to see events in their historical perspective...
On the whole, Noam Chomsky has been engaged in political activism all of his adult life and expressed opinions on politics and world events which are widely cited, publicized and discussed. Chomsky has in turn argued that his views are those which the powerful do not want to hear, and for this reason he is considered an American political dissident.
This paper presents Chomsky’s critical analysis of terrorism and the true impact of militarism in the world today. It explores how he places terrorist acts in the context of American foreign intervention throughout the post war decades in Vietnam, Central America, The Middle East and elsewhere. While presenting his philosophy of war on terrorism, this paper also tries to find out his philosophical bearings in detail.

Chomsky: The critical Intellectual and Postmodernism
S. Siraj Ahmed , Senior lecturer, Dept. of English ,Sahydri Arts College
Kuvempu University ,Shimoga-577203 ,Karnataka,sirajahmeds@gmail.com.
Chomsky has written extensively on the evils of American foreign policy, media censorship and the complex issues of power and its manipulation by politicians and capitalists of all kinds. He was an activist himself briefly against the Vietnam War but he sees his role mainly as a resource to activists struggling for justice and democracy throughout the world.
He provides the analysis and the documentation for groups and individuals to act on. His work is an inexorable critique of thought control and regimenting of public mind. However, he says that "I don't think I'm in any position to tell people what to do ....If you tell people to get seriously involved in dissent, they're going to change their lives. This is not the kind of thing you can dip your toe into and then walk away from. If you're serious about it, it is going to affect you. I don't feel in any position to tell people how to make these choices."
Much of Chomsky’s work has been an examination of the role of intellectuals and their typical subservience to institutions of state and private capital. His writings exemplify the role of a critical intellectual and the significance of his dissent. He is very clear that intellectuals because of their privileged access to knowledge and thus power, have a moral duty to propagate the truth and expose lies in government actions and in the media. He is engaged in a, as Edward Said puts it, “protracted war between fact and a series of myths”.

It is in this context Chomsky has no sympathy for the Post modernist position which considers truth as a highly problematic category. He dismisses postmodernism’s claim of truth as illusory and says the role of a critical intellectual is to relentlessly dig out the facts and expose the falsity of people in power. I shall try to explore in the course of my paper how his work, repeatedly addresses the responsibility of an intellectual. It also tries to examine how Chomsky fashions his own intellectualism in opposition to Foucauldian postmodernism. I shall also argue how Chomsky’s work is primarily regarded as the basis of intellectual self-defense against dominant discourse of power and how his work has inspired several generations of activists, with its high regard for evidence and documentation.




Creativity as Human Nature: A Note on Chomsky-Foucault debate

Dr. T.V Madhu, Department of Philosophy, Sree Sankaracharya University, Kalady, Cochin, Kerala , Email: tv.madhu@yahoo.co.in


The present paper is an attempt to understand the implications of Chomsky’s perspective on human nature. As a Matter of fact, Chomsky has never proposed any theory of human nature. But it is one of the presuppositions of his research that humans have a certain a priori or antecedent, innate characteristics. In 1975, he had a debate with Michel Foucault on the topic. At the heart of Foucault’s writings lies the conviction that there is nothing substantial about the concept of human nature. He consistently argues against any form of philosophical anthropology by claiming that we can never identify something called human nature. For him, subject is a discursive construct. Chomsky, in contrast to Foucault, is openly committed to the view that there is a fundamental dimension of creativity in human nature, and he seems to derive this view from his research in linguistics. But, following the debate, we see that both Foucault and Chomsky appear to agree on some points. How can there be agreement when the implications of both the perspectives seem to be diametrically opposed to each other? This question leads us to explore some of the crucial aspects of Chomsky’s concept of human nature. Chomsky assumes that there are some meeting points between his perspective and that of Foucault. We look at the validity of this assumption by assessing Chomsky’s argument that communitarian concept of subject is not completely outside the scope of his perspective on human nature. The actual point of his argument seems to be that the presupposition of his theory is not the autonomous individual, but human creativity which requires conditions that are free and cooperative. Humans have innate capacities but these are to be triggered depending on the social environment. We argue that the merits of his theory of human nature are to be assessed on the basis on his attempts of bridging the gulf between the concepts of constructed subject and creative subject, individual and society, structure and agency, freedom and equality etc.

Translation Studies and Philosophy of Language

Tharakeshwar V.B., Head,Department of Translation Studies ,Kannada University, Hampi ,Vidyaranya, Hospet,Karnataka-583 276

One of the key issues in Translation Studies is that of whether translation is possible or not. The debate is completely immersed in the theories of language and the debate in philosophy of language. There is a need to take an overview of the debate in philosophy of language and find its implications for the issue in Translation Studies.

There is also a renewed interest in Philosophy of language as evident in recent publications such as Language and Mind (2005) by Noam Chomsky, The Blackwell Guide to the Philosophy of Language (2006), edited by Michael Devitt and Richard Hanley, Johann Geog Hamann’s Writings on Philosophy and Language (2007), edited and translated by Kenneth Haynes. In the light of developments in the field of Philosophy of language, the debate in Translation Studies has to get reconfigured.

The present paper is a modest attempt in this direction, mainly looking at the take on language by scholars such as Quine, F. de Saussure, Austin, J. L., John R. Searle, Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher (1768-1834), Mikhail Bakhtin, Derrida and, of course, Chomsky.


Covering Strike in the time of Globalisation
Anticommunism of the Indian Media

Ashokan Nambiar, CIIL, Mysore

In their now famous work Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman develops a propaganda model to understand and expose the intricacies of the functioning of mass media in the US, which often proclaims themselves as the spokesmen of free speech and public interest. The authors list out five ingredients of the propaganda model or the news “filters”, one of them being anticommunism, which functions as a national religion and control mechanism.

The opening up of the boundaries of the Indian nation-state to the global market forces during the early 1990s, and the neoliberal economic policies followed by the subsequent governments have drastically changed the realities of the nation and its people. The Indian mainstream media houses, most of them being run by private individuals and families, welcomed these changes as long as they do not pose any direct challenge to their interests. One of the welcoming changes for the private media houses was the promise of the additional advertisement income from the market forces. The shrinking news space and expanding advertisement space in newspapers has been one of the outcomes of these changes, another being the prominence of corporate interest news reports and articles.

In the context of globalization, it is important to investigate what becomes newsworthy and what not for the Indian media. This paper is an attempt to look at how the Indian mainstream media, especially newspapers, covered (or not covered or neglected) a recent nation-wide general strike called by the various trade unions of the mainstream left in India against the “anti-people” policies of the central government. The paper will also try to explore how the mainstream media creates, what Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman call, news “filters” in the Indian context to construct news of “national interests” and deviate the attention of the people from those real issues caused by the global economic forces.


Engels, Chomsky and Habermas: Question of Emanicipatory Linguistics

P. Sreekumar, Department of Linguistics, Dravidian University, Kuppam

This paper is an attempt to evaluate Noam Chomsky’s position on language in the light of an alternative proposal. The said alternative is proposed here as emancipatory paradigm on human language. Chomsky revolutionized modern linguistics with a well defined paradigm, which is incommensurable and an epistemological rapture in the history of the exploration on language. A critical evaluation of Chomsky’s position in the intellectual history needs urgent attention. Within the available provisions of the Chomskiyan paradigm, his position cannot be critically evaluated. This context legitimizes the proposal of emanicipatory paradigm. First part of the paper presents the basic premises of emancipatory linguistics formulated form the marginalized observations on language by Friedrich Engels and much articulated notion of universal pragmatics by Jurgen Habermas. Second part critically evaluates Chomsky’s position on language based on the premises of emanicipatory linguistics. Third part is devoted to define an interface between Chomskiyan paradigm and the paradigm of emancipatory linguistics.

SOME OBSERVATIONS ON CHOMSKY’S ACTIVIST WRITING

B.N. Patnaik, Formerly Head of the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at IIT Kanpur ,Email: patnaik@iitk.ac.in

The activist writings of Chomsky place him in the league of writers that includes Russell, Camus, Pinter, Said, and Pamuk, among a host of others. Their concern is more with the here and now, than with the timeless and the universal, which distinguishes their writing from those of the major political thinkers. The paper maintains that this is not a drawback; it is just that the concerns of these two groups of writers are different. It is interesting to note that while in Chomsky’s work on Plato’s problem, the emphasis is on theory, in his work on Orwell’s problem the emphasis is on facts. The paper suggests that this is only to be expected, given the deeply humanitarian concerns that the latter has.

Chomsky speaks about the oppressed and the marginalized, but does not speak on behalf of any group; he refuses to be the spokesperson. His writing does not support any known and established ideology. However if one subscribes to the view that there can be no ideology-free writing in the relevant domain at least, then it is commitment to truth in some pragmatic, commonsensical sense of the term, in the domain of power. Such a commitment leads him to expose the machinations of power in order to make the common man aware of the same. The paper briefly critiques these.

Chomsky’s prose is basically intellectual but does not entirely lack passion. His prose is witty and forceful, and by and large simple and straightforward, although it shows an occasional use of irony. The density of facts and logical analysis in his writing might sometimes reduce its interest value, but such style is not without merit, attention is not diverted from facts to the language in which the same is expressed.
Social Movements in Contemporary India: Lessons from Chomsky

Patibandla Srikant, Research Scholar,Institute for Social and Economic Change
Nagarbhavi, Bangalore-5600072,Email: psrikant@isec.ac.in

In contemporary India, numerous struggles are going on against the state perceived notion of development. These grass-root social movements are fighting against the private capital linked with the global capital in the form of anti-dam and anti-industry. The state, however, is strong enough in countering such democratic movements through force, on which it has sole legitimacy. While these movements symbolise clearly the failure of mainstream ‘democratic’ political institutions, the state on the other instead of reforming the political institutions is increasingly going against such social movements. The question is why is the Indian state adopting confrontationist attitude towards such movements? Noam Chomsky has answered this question in the context of America. Taking clue from Chomsky, this paper argues that the Indian state is fast emerging as neo-imperialist power in the current global order. This can be amply proved by citing the free flow of capital from India in to other parts of the world, where the private capital has acquired many overseas firms and industries. It is here that Chomsky argues in the American context that in order to play a global role, it is vital to ‘silence’ such democratic voices. Giving the example of Vietnam, he argues that it is essential for the emerging imperial power to gain the support of democratic forces and institutions. In India such institutions are soft on the state and hence, alternatives are emerging in the form of social movements. These forms of rising protests are, for Chomsky, a symbol of hope. In India too such movements are a symbol of hope against the imperial designs of the Indian state.
Chomskeyan Rationalism: Continuity and Discontinuity

C. A. Tomy, Associate Professor, Dept. of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi -16


A systematic way of providing a naturalistic understanding of human nature and faculties was initiated by Descartes. However, many features of human human cognitive faculty remained stumbling blocks for Descartes' endeavor which forced him to adopt the view that there are two principles that constitute the human nature: the material and the mental. In the proposed paper, I shall discuss how Noam Chomsky carried forward the Cartesian project of naturalizing the human cognitive faculty. I shall attempt to do this with reference to Chomsky's version of rationalism where one would find certain continuities and discontinuities with Cartesian Rationalism. In consonance with Descartes’ theory of mind, Chomsky makes three interrelated claims about the principles responsible for the human capacity to use language; they are for him, (a) innate, (b) universal, (c) necessary. But Chomsky’s claim that his theory of language is within the Cartesian framework has been challenged by a few philosophers. According to David Cooper, for example, the three central notions, viz. , innateness, universality and necessity common to Chomsky and seventeenth century rationalists are employed by Chomsky in a way radically different from the rationalists’ use. I shall try to show that despite these differences, Chomskey's refinement of theses concepts do not amount to be a break with the Cartesian tradition.

Mediating Politics: The Political Economy of News Media in
Andhra Pradesh

Dr. Sathya Prakash, Lecturer, Depaartment of Mass Communication, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad.

Media operations seem to have become central to modern economy and polity. The corporate groups seem to need the media to access their markets through advertising. The dominant political groups in electoral democracies seem to need media for mass mediating politics and for building public consent. While the former looks at audiences as markets, the latter seems to look at the audiences as voters.

Meanwhile, news media business per se is not a viable business proposition. Especially so, in the case of language markets. In contrast to this economic rationale, the news media has had many new entrants in the past one decade in Andhra Pradesh and the local media scene is hyperactive. Every general election sees new additions to the stable of news media operators in the state. With ‘benami’ investors, and with money flowing from political parties, mining lobbies, real estate developers and contractors into print and television news industry, the political economy of news media business has become an exciting area of enquiry and contemplation.

This paper tries to map the trajectory of news media institutions in Andhra Pradesh in conjunction with the trajectory of political groups that dominate the state and its machinery and try to make observations that can help explain the seemingly not-so-rational economic behaviour of these news media businesses. The paper also tries to contemplate on the idea of mass mediating politics and on its long term consequences for Indian Democracy. In chomskian spirit the paper will also enquire into the causes and consequences of the shifting trajectory of news media institution from the claim of being an ‘autonomous entity’ to demonstrating that they have actively become ‘partisanal entities’.


Has There Been a “Chomskyan Impact” on Indian Minds
Meti Mallikarjun ,Dept.of Linguistics, Sahyadri Arts College, Kuvempu University
Shimoga – 577203, Email:meti.mallikarjun@gmail.com

Noam Chomsky Hailed as one of the most brilliant and influential intellectuals of the twentieth century, he has attracted international renown for his groundbreaking research into the nature of human language and communication. A prolific scholar and professor of linguistics who influences across the world and whose work is most cited which proves his intellectual credibility. His work produced what is referred to as the “Chomskyan Revolution,” a wide-reaching intellectual realignment and debate with implications that transcend formal linguistics to include psychology, philosophy, and even genetics. Chomsky is also an impassioned political dissenter whose controversial criticism of American society, the mass media, and foreign policy—especially its effects on ordinary citizens of Third World nations. Keeping the above cited insights this paper develops epistemological framework in order to bring out the way in which Chomsky influences/ed Indians both in socio-political and linguistics studies.
This paper does not attempt to review the whole influence of the Chomskyan thoughts on Indian minds. Instead, this will concentrate on just those aspects of its relevance is taken into consideration in understanding the ‘knowledge of Language’ in contemporary language studies at one hand. And, how far, Chomskyan socio-political thoughts are being influenced by Indians at the other hand.

A Chomskyan Program for Semantics:
Taking the ‘Middle’ Way

Dr. Pritha Chandra , Assistant Professor, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi

In this paper, I critically assess the externalist, model-theoretic, truth-conditional approach to natural language semantics - built on the lines of Frege 1892, Montague 1970 and Tarski 1933 - that has gained much popularity in recent years. Its ascent to fame, alongside a generative program for natural language syntax is surprising, given that this approach stands diametrically opposite to the internalist flavor of the latter (Chomsky 1977, 1995, 2000 inter alia). The discord between internalist syntax and externalist semantics therefore forces us to re-evaluate the basic claims of truth-conditional semantics and the attempts of its advocates to relegate meaning to the conditions that determine the truth or falsity of natural language sentences. The empirical domain of my research is the middle construction in English.
Davidson (1967) posits an event variable in the logical semantics of all action sentences. He argues that events resemble “things” in that they introduce a variable that can be modified and quantified over by different types of adverbials. Introducing an event variable or position to the semantic representation of each modifier captures how multiple adjuncts modify the event without changing the valence of each predicate. Recent studies have further shifted the event variable from the logical representations of sentences to their underlying syntactic representations.
I adopt one such syntactic account to explain the semantics of middle constructions in English. According to the Neo-Davidsonian approach that I follow here, there is an [e] argument in the syntactic representation of the main predicate of the clause, which is distributed among the modifiers as well as the individual arguments of the predicate. I claim that middle constructions – though they resemble intransitives in surface form – have underlying objects that ultimately surface as their grammatical subjects. Supporting evidence for this claim comes from telicity effects in middles, which are prototypically present with transitive verbs. Based on such empirical evidence, I then propose a double Asp-layered functional structure that captures the telicity effects and accomplishment readings in middles.
In the end, I argue that evaluating the meaning of a sentence is not equivalent to searching for its truth-conditions and that truth-conditional semantics lead us away from revealing the system underlying speakers’ intuitions about semantic relations like ambiguities, entailments and indexicals. A neo-davidsonian analysis that posits an event variable in the syntactic structure is a step towards the right kind of compositional, internalist semantics that linguistics should aspire for today.
Economy in Minimalism: How far it works for mixed forms?

Nivedita Kumari, Research Scholar, IIT, Chennai.

In the minimalist framework, lexicon has the numeration set, which comprises the lexical categories, functional categories and the inflectional and derivational suffixes. A monolingual speaker has this set made up of elements of the same language or so to say the code¹. However, based on this framework a bi/multilingual speaker has words, suffixes and functional categories from two or more languages. The present paper attempts to ask,
What are the levels at which Nouns of L2 mix with that of the L1?
What are the kinds of inflections that these Nouns take?
How is a mixed form derived through a mental lexicon that has a variety of elements from different languages?
What grammar does the mixed form follow?

The mixed forms here belong to the substratum language L2 English and the super stratum languages L1 Hindi, Japanese, and Maithili. The data were collected from various literary sources and the native speakers of the respective L1s. The patterns of Noun inflection found in the languages involved vary.



Against American Hegemony
Political Philosophy of Noam Chomsky

Dr. P. Kesava Kumar , Sr. Lecturer, Department of Philosophy, Pondicherry University
Puducherry, Email: pkesav@gmail.com

Chomsky and his political thought had grown with the anti Vietnam War movement of American students of 60s and had a great impact on generation of sixties. This spirit is consistently maintained in all his writings. He had a conviction that the role of intellectuals is to speak truth and expose lies. As an intellectual he had exposed the role of USA in terrorizing and exploiting the world. Chomsky inspired by the politics of anarchy, which is fighting against the system. He has inspired by the anarchic thinkers like Micheal Bakunin, Rudolf Rocker, and Marxist thinkers such as Karl Korsch and the struggles of Spanish civil war. To certain extent he is influenced by classical liberal scientist Humboldt and philosophers such as Bertrand Russell. Chomsky describes the Spanish conflict as the predominantly anarchic revolution, which was largely spontaneous, involving the masses of urban and rural labourers in a radical transformation of social and economic conditions that persisted, with remarkable success until it was crushed by force. The historical account on Spanish experience makes him not trust both the liberal and many Marxists. He documented the communist betrayal of Spanish anarchists and the consecuvent betrayal of Spanish revolutionary project itself.
Chomsky’s political writings are crucial and progressive in understanding the post –cold war world politics. Chomsky’s analysis of world politics grows out of his understanding of power and its significance for human freedom. Human beings, argues Chomsky, have a variety of innate capacities, of which the most fundamental ‘is the capacity and the need for creative self expression, for free control of one’s own life and thought’. He also regards it as ‘a fundamental human need to take part in the democratic control of social institutions’. Chomsky’s essentialism takes the view that human beings are inherently rational, creative and social. They therefore require conditions of freedom for cooperation toward humanistic endeavour. So states and capitalism work against human need because both concentrate power into the hands of a few denying the many the necessary conditions for cooperative, humanistic creativity.
It is difficult locate Chomsky in conventional traditions of political theory. He is neither conservative, liberal, socialist, Marxist nor libertarian. He identifies himself as ‘social libertarian’. As it is argued by Alison Edgley that chomsky’s libertarian socialist ideals of freedom and equality are not only consistent with human behaviour, but are indeed necessary for human beings to have the opportunity to live their full potential. Libertarian socialism is not simply a morally worth ideal; it is necessary state for the human condition. Chomsky put much more emphasis on freedom and reason. Today, the world politics are dominated by the America- new world order, order of liberal economy, transnational liberalism, empire of capitalist democracy. US foreign policy and imperialism are central to chomskyan politics.
This theory has been evolved from the struggles which are essentially anarchic. The general conception of anarchy is identified with chaos, violence, rebellion. Chomsky provides new meaning to anarchy. He argues that his kind of anarchism has to be understood from the historical context. For this he admires the Spanish civil war, which is against liberal capitalist and orthodox marxist traditions, but revolutionary. This paper makes an attempt to trace out the political philosophy of Chomsky and its relevance in contemporary debates of political philosophy. Chomsky’s political philosophy is committed to the pursuit of a logically driven rationalist position with a notion of social justice as its foundation. Chomsky explicitly identifies himself as a Cartesian rationalist, a view which ‘assumes that there are certain intrinsic properties of human nature’. Chomsky’s essentialism, it shall be argued, is not reductionist, homogenizing or deterministic. Rather, his essentialism enables us to form a judgement about the relative merits of one form of social organization over another. Chomsky’s position by contrast is logically informed by an essentialist claim for humanist social justice, namely freedom for creative and cooperative interdependence Chomsky’s view that ‘people have an instinct for freedom’, driven by their creative capacities, must be placed within a context: ‘[h]ow the freedom works depends on what the social structures are’. For Chomsky, however, freedom must include the freedom of access to material resources just as equality must include equality in decision-making processes. His good society, therefore, is, and can only be libertarian socialist. For Chomsky, the ideal form of social organization is one that minimizes external authority (anarchism) and allows for free association of individuals (syndicalism). The result, which he calls “libertarian socialism” or “anarchosyndicalism,” maximizes the opportunity to exercise autonomy, freedom, and creativity on the one hand, while finding friendship, solidarity, and love, on the other.
This paper evaluates the strength of his political thought in resisting the imperialist designs of the world order by the USA and the neo liberal market forces. Weather, his political theory is consistent or not is a question to be debated. Chomsky provides the political plat form to involve more and more people by distancing himself from both liberal and Marxists traditions, in the struggles resisting the hegemony of neo liberalism. More over, he serves a source of inspiration for many third world nations for his critical political writings on his own America.
The Biolinguistic Program: Where Does It Stand Today?
KASHYAP MANKODI, CIIL, Mysore
The immediate provocation for this note is a recent write-up by Noam Chomsky with the title The Biolinguistic Program: Where does it stand today? However, in this note I will make some remarks about Chomsky’s claims, methods, and pronouncements over half a century of influential publications and a very visible public life, with both of which I am vaguely familiar. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, surely the sincerest critique must be parody, and some of my remarks may reflect this conclusion.
Chomsky views human language as a particular object of the biological world, and creates another myth about its birth among mankind. He only couches it in the language of science, speaking of perspectives, fruitful research programs, discoveries, arguments, evolution and compelling evidence. This organ of the body which Chomsky ‘argues’ for is long on claims, but as short or long in explanatory adequacy as other myths of the birth of language. And it is this imbalance between claims and explanatory adequacy which makes the organ limp. Hence, Chomsky’s limp organ argument.

Minding Mind

Ranjit Singh Rangila, CIIL, Mysore ,r.rangila@yahoomail.com




The contribution deals with mind modeling as an issue in cognitive sciences. It flows from the vision of C-semiology (Rangial 2000, 2008), which holds that every act, fact, concept, percept, typology gets created to participate in life, as it is sourced through civilization. That places the creations in a framework of value called ‘the civilized’. Mind is conceptualized as a facility that supports the vision.

To begin with the issue is raised with reference to language sciences. Two positions on mind, namely, that of Panini and Chomsky, are considered for critical scrutiny. Other than appreciating their contribution to mind modeling, the move helps to place Panini’s intuition among contemporary concerns, and Chomssky’s work gets placed in the history of human intellectual civilization.

Then the writing opens up the issue to the general problematic of human creative behaviour as such. It proposes architecture of mind that is anchored in ‘sites’ located in the spread of body-brain. The sites act as the local sources, as well as, resources of mind. They are equipped with their calculi and hence work on base memory and response data. Each site in action churns out ‘knowledge data’ that runs into multiple series.

The sites act in consonance under the demands of mind and help it to conduct readings of the available matrices of knowledge data to arrive at reference, inference and interpretation. This leads to creation of conceptual structures, including linguistic structures, and response modalities (to deal with situations).

The conceptual structures are valued through the suitability scanning that is jointly conducted by consciousness, cognition and sociality. These three constitute a platform that is beyond sites, though sites feed both knowledge data that gets consolidated into conceptual structures. It is the platform that decides the ‘wise locality’ status of the received data.

Depending on the resourceful valuation received from the platform mind stands for the ‘I’ and decides to place something as a creation or/and as a created response as the situational make up may workout.

On technical side the writing takes up Plato’s will for involving geometry in scientific creations in a big way. As is the practice in C-semiology, it takes geometry in its configurational sense and makes its productive use in mind modeling.

Contribution of Noam Chomsky:
Towards Machine Translation

Kommaluri Vijayanand, Sr. Lecturer, Department of Computer Science,
Pondicherry University, Puducherry – 605 014. Email: kvixs@yahoo.co.in

Machine Translation (MT) system depends upon the grammar that has been defined for the languages chosen. Noam Chomsky who a legendary for his excellent writings in linguistics and radical politics, his inspiring teaching and technical brilliance had contributed towards the generative grammar and linguistics that had laid foundation to the on going research activity in Computer Science against Natural Language Processing. The nature of learning derived by Noam Chomsky had brought out the transformational syntax and tried to build a universal grammar. Chomsky’s hope for the prospects of engaging Information theory had served the linguistic theory. The properties of grammar found consistently among human languages that are arguably taken by the human language faculty as desirable characteristics of grammar, would be discovered by linguists, on Chomsky’s view. Whenever a Computational Linguist fires a linguist, the performance of the MT system improves. This paper presents the significance of Noam Chomsky’s contribution that lead to development in the area of MT specifically.
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Against Brahminical Tradition: A Dalit Critique of Modernity
Dalit Liberation Theology:'Naraloka Prarthana' Of Madduri Nagesh Babu
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http://untouchablespring.blogspot.com/2006_11_01_archive.html
Popular culture and ideology: The phenomenon of Gaddar
'Boys' Just want to have fun: Tamil cinema, Youth culture and Globalization
Politics of literatute : Contemprary Telugu Katha
Performance of Social memory...In search of Dalit Culture
Tsunami : A challenge to Science and Religion
Uproot Hindutva
Telugu Dalit literature
We are not born to die
Community, Nation and Social Justice: Interface of Gandhi and Ambedkar
Negotiating Caste and Gender
Insights into Indian Nationalism
community, Common good and Democracy: Indian response to Western Communitarianism
Emergence of Dalit Novel :Changing notion of Freedom
Politics of Cinema: Fans and Dalit audiencesa
The Song of Protest: Voice of the voiceless
Aganist Brahminical tradition
song of gaddar
Telugu Dalit Literature
Popular culture and ideology: The phenomenon of Gaddar
'Boys' Just want to have fun: Tamil cinema, Youth culture and Globalization
Politics of literatute : Contemprary Telugu Katha
Performance of Social memory...In search of Dalit Culture
Tsunami : A challenge to Science and Religion
Uproot Hindutva
Telugu Dalit literature
We are not born to die
Community, Nation and Social Justice: Interface of Gandhi and Ambedkar
Negotiating Caste and Gender
Insights into Indian Nationalism
community, Common good and Democracy: Indian response to Western Communitarianism
Emergence of Dalit Novel :Changing notion of Freedom
Politics of Cinema: Fans and Dalit audiencesa

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