Towards the end of this essay on formal systems and human language the author states:
Chomsky and Halle and many other linguists assume that language IS such a [formal] system... These are powerful assumptions that not only are not fully defended, they appear to have no evidence at all except the intuitions of linguists.
I'm inclined to agree with the author. Formal systems seem far too rigid and deterministic to encompass natural languages. However I'm fairly ignorant about the literature on this topic.
What are some arguments for and against language as a formal system? Is there a middle ground or better options? Is there any consensus or schools of thought within the Linguistics community?