466
PARTISAN REVIEW
Chomsky a rgues tha t it is the vari ous constra ints on rul es that
reveal wha t is trul y deep abo ut language and he discusses several
interesting p roposals abo ut these constraints. T he constra ints are no t
learned , he arg ues. For examp le, child ren never make mistakes involv–
ing viola tions o f constra ints. Th e constra ints must therefore be pa rt of
the inna te schema for language, whi ch means tha t the same constra ints
will appl y to the rul es of wha tever gramma r the child develops.
It
fo ll ows tha t a study of the rul es o f one language can revea l something
abo ut a ll lang uages, since the constra ints needed on the rul es of the one
lang uage will be constraints on the rul es of any language.
Chomsky shows tha t hi s criti cs have no t a lways apprecia ted the
force of thi s argumen t. In their defense it mi ght be said tha t he has
never before presented the argument as clea rl y as in this book.
GILBERT HARMAN
THE TEXT OF A LIFE
THE PLEASURE OF THE TEXT.
By Roland Barthes. Translated by
Richard Miller. Hill and Wang. $5.95.
ROLAND BARTHES.
By Roland Barthes. Translated by Richard How–
ard. Hill and Wang. $4.95.
Sartre sugges ted in hi s auto biograph y tha t he owed the
orig inality and self- conf idence o f hi s intell ectua l ca reer to the early
dea th of hi s fa ther, a nava l offi cer. "There arc no good fa thers, that's
the rul e, " he procla imed; as the o nl y chil d of a do ting mo ther he coul d
grow up free and "witho ut a Super-Ego." Roland Ba rthes is now
a lmos t as famous a rebel in France, though in a very different style; so it
is intriguin g to lea rn from hi s auto biograph y tha t hi s famil y hi story is
a lmo st identical to Sartre's. T ho ugh Barthes' po liti ca l pos ition is now
far removed from Sartre's still militant acti vism, he made hi s intell ec–
tual debut as a lefti st with
Writing Degree Zero
(1953), no ta bl e fo r its
sophi sti cated Marxi st defence of modern ism aga inst socia list rea lism .
T hen , a t a bout the age of fift y, h e upset the appleca rt o r trad iti ona l
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