Rules and representations

In his book, Chomsky presents his views on language within the framework of a comprehensive theory of human cognition. He conceptualizes the human mind as a system of interacting subsystems, whose functions are biologically determined and can be understood through scientific methods. Chomsky treats the human capacity for language as one such subsystem, and he reiterates his famous hypothesis of universal grammar: genetically determined mental structures allow our linguistic abilities to flourish far beyond limited environmental influences.