Chomsky's ideas have exerted a powerful influence on other disciplines by restoring language to a central position in cognitive psychology and in the philosophy of mind. The wider impact of his redefinition of the subject gives him a permanent place in the intellectual history of the twentieth century.

Central to Chomsky's analysis is the distinction he draws between linguistic competence (knowledge of the system of rules that govern language) and an individual's actual performance as a user of language.

As Dr. Klor de Alva, "...Chomsky's sober text makes clear why avoidance of dogmatism and reductionism, in the human and natural sciences--as in all things--and a well-founded recognition of the limits of cognition are not only methodologically useful but also conceptually necessary."