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Debate Noam Chomsky & Michel Foucault - On human nature [Subtitled]

withDefiance · 2.7M views · 2013-03-13 · 1:10:03

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Overview

The full 1971 Dutch television debate between Noam Chomsky and Michel Foucault on human nature, with subtitles. They discuss creativity, knowledge, power and politics.

On Hacker News

HN recommends it as a famous, revealing clash between two thinkers, though some note they largely talk past each other.

Recommended by 6 HN people across 6 months · HN mentions 2015–2026

Topics

Philosophy & ethicsConsciousness & cognitionPolitics & history (other)
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chomskyfoucaultphilosophycreativitypower1971

What people said

bbor · 2026-07 · Strong recommendation

1. Languages are used for much, much more than communication, and there is good reason to think that capacity didn't evolve for communication, but rather for metacognitive problem solving. 2. The idea that Tolkein --one of the most reknowned writers in our entire canon-- did something isn't relevant to the philosophical discussion of creativity and its obvious bounds. Even Tolkein was just painting within the lines set by the linguists he had read and the obscure languages he adored, not to mention the fundamental limits set by our capacity for language in the first place. For anyone who's curious about this kind of thing, I cannot reccomend the infamous debate b/w Chomsky & Foucault enough; it ranges across topics a bit, but chapter markers should help you skip to the core of it (creativity) if you prefer. Video here: [VIDEO] , some old summaries on /r/AskPhilosophy here: [LINK]

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steveklabnik · 2015-04 · Strong recommendation

For anyone who hasn't watched the actual, full video of the debate, you should do so. Watching them argue in two languages at the same time is super fun. [VIDEO] Okay, here's what the video is saying, in slightly-longer form. The exchange in the video is basically Chomsky saying "human nature" and Foucault laughing. This gets at the heart of the hour-long debate: do humans have some sort of nature? Foucault, and philosophers like him, think that the idea of 'human nature' is complete and utter garbage. So when Chomsky admits that his position boils down to an appeal of human nature, Foucault just laughs at him. It's a great moment that really highlights the whole thing. I love it.

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pmoriarty · 2019-10 · Recommendation

For anyone who hasn't seen it yet, here's an interesting debate between Foucault and Chomsky: [1] Unfortunately, they're mostly speaking past each other, but it's still worth watching. [1] - [VIDEO]

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Sources

Video by withDefiance, played through YouTube.

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