Performative speech acts in linguistic theory: The rationality of Noam Chomsky

The discourses of philosophy and science have often revolved around the problems of relating theory with practice, and rationality with materiality. Yet the problems have been evaded more often than solved by 'speech acts' which purport to be strictly 'constative' (this is the real truth because the universe is like that) but which are mainly 'performative' (this is the real truth because we say so and we are the most rational). In the discourse of 'modern' linguistics, the question of whether the 'reality' of language is mental, material, or social has been evaded by a performative campaign to replace real language with ideal language and to short-circuit mental with material whilst bypassing the social basis of language. A leading idealiser in this evasion has been Noam Chomsky, whose discourse has implied large claims to hold a superior rationality.