The Poverty of the Stimulus Argument

2001/06/01 by Stephen Laurence, Eric Margolis · 2 citations
Arts and Humanities · #Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation #Historical Linguistics and Language Studies #Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies

paper · doi:10.1093/bjps/52.2.217

openalex publication_date 2001/06/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

Noam Chomsky's Poverty of the Stimulus Argument is one of the most famous and controversial arguments in the study of language and the mind. Though widely endorsed by linguists, the argument has met with much resistance in philosophy. Unfortunately, philosophical critics have often failed to fully appreciate the power of the argument. In this paper, we provide a systematic presentation of the Poverty of the Stimulus Argument, clarifying its structure, content, and evidential base. We defend the argument against a variety of philosophical criticisms, new and old, and argue that the Poverty of the Stimulus Argument continues to deserve its guiding role in the study of language and the mind.

Citations

• Critical period effects in second language learning: The influence of maturational state on the acquisition of English as a second language
• Negative evidence on negative evidence.

Cited by

• Poverty of the Stimulus Revisited
• Domain-specific learning [wikipedia]