--- title: "9 Granted Quotes By Noam Chomsky" description: "9 Granted quotes by Noam Chomsky. Plus more from Noam Chomsky and more Granted sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/728/noam-chomsky-42_biologist_scientists-generally-not-just-evolutiona_2273988.jpg" --- > [Scientists generally, not just evolutionary biologists, don't take much for granted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/scientists-generally-not-just-evolutionary-biologists-don-t-take-much/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/728/noam-chomsky-42_biologist_scientists-generally-not-just-evolutiona_2273988.jpg) > [I suppose frogs pay no attention to being frogs. They take it for granted. What interests a frog are differences among frogs.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-suppose-frogs-pay-no-attention-to-being-frogs-they-take-it-for/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3d/noam-chomsky-42_attention_i-suppose-frogs-pay-no-attention-to-bein_1863317.jpg) > [Anarcho-syndic alism took for granted that working people ought to control their own work, its conditions, the enterprises in which they work,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/anarcho-syndic-alism-took-for-granted-that-working-people-ought-to/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/024/noam-chomsky-42_association_anarcho-syndic-alism-took-for-granted-th_697999.jpg) > [I think the activism of the 1960s had a very definite civilizing effect on the whole society in all kinds of ways.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-think-the-activism-of-the-1960s-had-a-very-definite-civilizing/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/697/noam-chomsky-42_1960s_i-think-the-activism-of-the-1960s-had-a_1861013.jpg) > [Unaccountable private power concentrations that dominate economic and social life have the means to seek to "regiment the public mind," and become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/unaccountable-private-power-concentrations-that-dominate-economic-and/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/764/noam-chomsky-42_concentration_unaccountable-private-power-concentratio_2110148.jpg) > [I think that as human beings, we quite naturally take for granted what is similar among human beings and, then, pay attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-think-that-as-human-beings-we-quite-naturally-take-for-granted-what/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5f/noam-chomsky-42_attention_i-think-that-as-human-beings-we-quite-na_1969192.jpg) > [I try to encourage people to think for themselves, to question standard assumptions... Don't take assumptions for granted. Begin by taking a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-try-to-encourage-people-to-think-for-themselves-to-question/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0b/noam-chomsky-42_ask-questions_i-try-to-encourage-people-to-think-for-t_2724418.jpg) > [Why does everyone take for granted that we don't learn to grow arms, but rather, are designed to grow arms? Similarly, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/why-does-everyone-take-for-granted-that-we-don-t-learn-to-grow-arms/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df0/noam-chomsky-42_arms_why-does-everyone-take-for-granted-that_2416902.jpg) > [Imagine an extrahuman observer looking at us. Such an extrahuman observer would be struck precisely by the uniformity of human languages, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/imagine-an-extrahuman-observer-looking-at-us-such-an-extrahuman/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/366/noam-chomsky-42_appropriate_imagine-an-extrahuman-observer-looking-a_1671119.jpg) ## Other authors on Granted ## More by Noam Chomsky > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [If you believe in democracy, why shouldn't you know what the government is doing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/if-you-believe-in-democracy-why-shouldn-t-you-know-what-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [It’s a shameful moment for U.S. media when it insists on being subservient to the grotesque propaganda agencies of a violent, aggressive state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/it-s-a-shameful-moment-for-u-s-media-when-it-insists-on-being/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There are questions as to whether it should even exist. Who should corporations be responsive to, the management of a corporation? Theoretically they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-questions-as-to-whether-it-should-even-exist-who-should/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Governments regard their own citizens as their main enemy, and they have to be - protect themselves. That's why you have state secret laws.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/governments-regard-their-own-citizens-as-their-main-enemy-and-they/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [I don't join the New Atheists. So, for example, I wouldn't have the arrogance to lecture some mother who hopes to see her dying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-don-t-join-the-new-atheists-so-for-example-i-wouldn-t-have-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The first thing you ought to do is verify what I present. Just because I say it doesn't make it true. So check it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-first-thing-you-ought-to-do-is-verify-what-i-present-just-because/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [ I wrote an article about the marine landing \[in Haiti\] right away, but barely mentioned the oil, because my article would come out two… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-wrote-an-article-about-the-marine-landing-in-haiti-right-away-but/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [American society is now remarkably atomized. Political organizations have collapsed. In fact, it seems like even bowling leagues are collapsing. The left has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/american-society-is-now-remarkably-atomized-political-organizations/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Discovery is the ability to be puzzled by simple things. Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/discovery-is-the-ability-to-be-puzzled-by-simple-things-noam-chomsky/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There's an interesting book about that called The Third Reich and the Ivory Tower, written by Stephen H. Norwood. It has a long discussion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-s-an-interesting-book-about-that-called-the-third-reich-and-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [This is class war on an international scale, and power is in the hands of those who control the international economic system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/this-is-class-war-on-an-international-scale-and-power-is-in-the-hands/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There are big, extremely irrational parts of the society, and they have now been mobilized politically by the Republican establishment, hoping that these people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-big-extremely-irrational-parts-of-the-society-and-they-have/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There's plenty to criticize about the mass media, but they are the source of regular information about a wide range of topics. You can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-s-plenty-to-criticize-about-the-mass-media-but-they-are-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The 50,000 Korean mercenaries we had in Vietnam were professional killers and just massacred people outright. And the American army did plenty of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-50-000-korean-mercenaries-we-had-in-vietnam-were-professional/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/granted/noam-chomsky/#itemlist", "name": "9 Granted Quotes By Noam Chomsky", "numberOfItems": 9, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Scientists generally, not just evolutionary biologists, don't take much for granted.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Noam Chomsky" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/scientists-generally-not-just-evolutionary-biologists-don-t-take-much/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/728/noam-chomsky-42_biologist_scientists-generally-not-just-evolutiona_2273988.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/728/noam-chomsky-42_biologist_scientists-generally-not-just-evolutiona_2273988.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/728/noam-chomsky-42_biologist_scientists-generally-not-just-evolutiona_2273988.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Scientists generally, not just evolutionary biologists, don't take much for granted.” — Noam Chomsky", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I suppose frogs pay no attention to being frogs. They take it for granted. What interests a frog are differences among frogs. From our point of view they are more or less the same, from their point of view they are all radically different.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Noam Chomsky" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-suppose-frogs-pay-no-attention-to-being-frogs-they-take-it-for/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3d/noam-chomsky-42_attention_i-suppose-frogs-pay-no-attention-to-bein_1863317.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3d/noam-chomsky-42_attention_i-suppose-frogs-pay-no-attention-to-bein_1863317.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3d/noam-chomsky-42_attention_i-suppose-frogs-pay-no-attention-to-bein_1863317.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I suppose frogs pay no attention to being frogs. They take it for granted. What interests a frog are…” — Noam Chomsky", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Anarcho-syndic alism took for granted that working people ought to control their own work, its conditions, the enterprises in which they work, along with communities, so they should be associated with one another in free associations, and democracy of that kind should be the foundational elements of a more general free society.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Noam Chomsky" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/anarcho-syndic-alism-took-for-granted-that-working-people-ought-to/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/024/noam-chomsky-42_association_anarcho-syndic-alism-took-for-granted-th_697999.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/024/noam-chomsky-42_association_anarcho-syndic-alism-took-for-granted-th_697999.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/024/noam-chomsky-42_association_anarcho-syndic-alism-took-for-granted-th_697999.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Anarcho-syndic alism took for granted that working people ought to control their own work, its conditions…” — Noam Chomsky", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think the activism of the 1960s had a very definite civilizing effect on the whole society in all kinds of ways. So lots of things that by now are almost taken for granted were heretical in the 1960s. We had anti-sodomy laws until not many years ago.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Noam Chomsky" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-think-the-activism-of-the-1960s-had-a-very-definite-civilizing/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/697/noam-chomsky-42_1960s_i-think-the-activism-of-the-1960s-had-a_1861013.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/697/noam-chomsky-42_1960s_i-think-the-activism-of-the-1960s-had-a_1861013.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/697/noam-chomsky-42_1960s_i-think-the-activism-of-the-1960s-had-a_1861013.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think the activism of the 1960s had a very definite civilizing effect on the whole society in all kinds of…” — Noam Chomsky", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Unaccountable private power concentrations that dominate economic and social life have the means to seek to \"regiment the public mind,\" and become \"tools and tyrants\" of government, in James Madison's memorable phrase, as he warned of the threats he discerned to the democratic experiment if private powers were granted free rein.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Noam Chomsky" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/unaccountable-private-power-concentrations-that-dominate-economic-and/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/764/noam-chomsky-42_concentration_unaccountable-private-power-concentratio_2110148.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/764/noam-chomsky-42_concentration_unaccountable-private-power-concentratio_2110148.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/764/noam-chomsky-42_concentration_unaccountable-private-power-concentratio_2110148.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Unaccountable private power concentrations that dominate economic and social life have the means to seek to…” — Noam Chomsky", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think that as human beings, we quite naturally take for granted what is similar among human beings and, then, pay attention to what differentiates us. That makes perfect sense for us as human beings.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Noam Chomsky" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-think-that-as-human-beings-we-quite-naturally-take-for-granted-what/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5f/noam-chomsky-42_attention_i-think-that-as-human-beings-we-quite-na_1969192.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5f/noam-chomsky-42_attention_i-think-that-as-human-beings-we-quite-na_1969192.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5f/noam-chomsky-42_attention_i-think-that-as-human-beings-we-quite-na_1969192.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think that as human beings, we quite naturally take for granted what is similar among human beings and…” — Noam Chomsky", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I try to encourage people to think for themselves, to question standard assumptions... Don't take assumptions for granted. Begin by taking a skeptical attitude toward anything that is conventional wisdom. Make it justify itself. It usually can't. Be willing to ask questions about what is taken for granted. Try to think things through for yourself.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Noam Chomsky" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-try-to-encourage-people-to-think-for-themselves-to-question/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0b/noam-chomsky-42_ask-questions_i-try-to-encourage-people-to-think-for-t_2724418.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0b/noam-chomsky-42_ask-questions_i-try-to-encourage-people-to-think-for-t_2724418.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0b/noam-chomsky-42_ask-questions_i-try-to-encourage-people-to-think-for-t_2724418.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I try to encourage people to think for themselves, to question standard assumptions... Don't take…” — Noam Chomsky", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Why does everyone take for granted that we don't learn to grow arms, but rather, are designed to grow arms? Similarly, we should conclude that in the case of the development of moral systems; there's a biological endowment which in effect requires us to develop a system of moral judgment and a theory of justice, if you like, that in fact has detailed applicability over an enormous range.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Noam Chomsky" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/why-does-everyone-take-for-granted-that-we-don-t-learn-to-grow-arms/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df0/noam-chomsky-42_arms_why-does-everyone-take-for-granted-that_2416902.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df0/noam-chomsky-42_arms_why-does-everyone-take-for-granted-that_2416902.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df0/noam-chomsky-42_arms_why-does-everyone-take-for-granted-that_2416902.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Why does everyone take for granted that we don't learn to grow arms, but rather, are designed to grow arms?…” — Noam Chomsky", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Imagine an extrahuman observer looking at us. Such an extrahuman observer would be struck precisely by the uniformity of human languages, by the very slight variation from one language to another, and by the remarkable respects in which all languages are the same. And then he would notice we do not pay any attention to that because for the purpose of human life it is quite natural and appropriate just to take for granted everything that is common. We don't concern ourselves with that, all we worry about are differences.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Noam Chomsky" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/imagine-an-extrahuman-observer-looking-at-us-such-an-extrahuman/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/366/noam-chomsky-42_appropriate_imagine-an-extrahuman-observer-looking-a_1671119.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/366/noam-chomsky-42_appropriate_imagine-an-extrahuman-observer-looking-a_1671119.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/366/noam-chomsky-42_appropriate_imagine-an-extrahuman-observer-looking-a_1671119.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Imagine an extrahuman observer looking at us. Such an extrahuman observer would be struck precisely by the…” — Noam Chomsky", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/granted/noam-chomsky/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/granted/noam-chomsky/", "name": "Granted Quotes by Noam Chomsky", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/granted/noam-chomsky/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/728/noam-chomsky-42_biologist_scientists-generally-not-just-evolutiona_2273988.jpg" }, "description": "9 Granted quotes by Noam Chomsky. 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