The Foucault vs Chomsky Debate

Michel Foucault and Noam Chomsky had a debate on a Dutch TV program about the topic of "Human Nature: Justice versus Power." Chomsky believes that there is a fixed human nature and that true scientific understanding is impossible without it. He also believes that there is a bio-physical structure underlying the mind that enables individuals to learn and use language in a creative way.

He aims to uncover these structures through a testable mathematical theory of the mind. Foucault, on the other hand, disagrees with Chomsky's views and instead of asking if human nature exists, he asks how the concept of human nature has functioned in our society. He believes that the idea of human nature mainly played the role of designating certain types of discourse in relation to or in opposition to theology or biology or history.