“In the early 1940s, as a young teenager, I was utterly appalled by the racist and jingoist hysteria of the anti-Japanese propaganda. The Germans were evil, but treated with some respect: They were, after all, blond Aryan types, just like our imaginary self-image. Japanese were mere vermin, to be crushed like ants.”

American intellectual, philosopher and linguist

Noam Chomsky is an American intellectual, philosopher, linguist, political activist, and social critic. He is widely known for his work in modern linguistics, and is sometimes called the father of that field. He has also played a major role in analytic philosophy and is regarded as one of the founders of cognitive science. Chomsky has held academic posts at the University of Arizona and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he is institute professor emeritus. His work spans language, philosophy, politics, and social criticism, and his writing often reflects those wide-ranging interests.