If A Tree Falls In A Forest, And No One Is Around To Hear It...
Does it make a sound? I came across this long-debated question again while I reading a website. Then I googled it to see how people answered it.
I always thought this was more of a scientific question than philosophical, but from the answers I read, it's a question of "What is Reality?" Here's how I answer it (as brief as possible): No, it doesn't make a sound. It produces sound waves, but unless you have the ability to translate the waves into sensory information in the brain, then there is no sound. If a deaf person is in the woods and a tree falls beside him, it doesn't make a "sound."
I found a lot of interesting answers on the web. These are some excerpts. Some are very long and detailed answers.
Here's what Shannon S. wrote about it:
No, it does not. I will explain this bizzare conclusion, but it is more of a feeling than something that can be expressed in words, no matter how descriptive. With that being said, try to extract the feeling rather than the image described. That, in itself, may be the whole point of this story. More...
I didn't really understand her answer, but I'm only on my first cup of coffee so maybe I'll re-read it later.
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This is by David E. Romm. He takes a humorous, sci-fi approach to the question...even using aliens as examples. (I still have to disagree with his conclusion though.)
One of the great dumb philosphy questions is, "If a tree falls in a forest and there's no one there to hear it, does it make a sound?" The obvious answer is: "Of course there is. What a stupid question. Next you're going to ask about that clapping thing." But philosophy isn't about the obvious; philosophy is about the devious. The answer, arrived after much debate (and much drinking) seems to be "no": Sound is only sound if a person hears it, claim the tipsy pundits. More...
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Todd F. Eklof had the best answer yet. He also answers the "chicken and egg" question.
We’ve all heard the puzzling, if not unanswerable, question, "If a tree falls in the woods and there’s no one present to hear it, does it make a sound?" If we define sound purely as radiant energy transmitted in the longitudinal pressure waves of air, then the answer is "yes," the phenomenon of sound is present even in the absence of an ear. If, however, we feel obligated to include the ear as part of the definition of sound, which must be present if the vibratory motion of the radiant energy created by the fallen tree is to be detected as the audible sensation we call sound, then the answer must be "no," because sound is necessarily defined by its experience. More...
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At Sum Ergo Cogito, the author gives a more scientific answer.
If a tree falls in a forest with no one to hear it, then does it make a sound? This old riddle may well be familiar to you. It's supposed to perplex and confuse us. It's supposed to be unanswerable. On the one hand, it seems obvious that a tree falling in a forest with no one to hear it makes a sound. The tree-fall is just the same whether an observer is present or not. In cases where an observer is present, a tree-fall makes a sound. Removing the observer doesn't change the tree-fall. An observed tree-fall therefore involves a sound. More...
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These are two separate answers posted on AnswerBag. One author relates the question to karma and the butterfly effect. The other one...I'm not sure if his answer was yes, no, or both.
KarmaKitty said: From a scientific standpoint, it depends whether you consider sound to be the actual sound waves or only the perception of those waves by an ear. For the first, a definite yes. For the second, no (unless forest critters don't count as someone). Philosophically, there are many ways to answer. Personally, I see it as a metaphor for karma. Whatever someone or something does, it has results - even if no one observes it. Sound would be symbolic of the karmic results. (Answer 2) More...
Thom64 said: Practical answer: yes, of course it does. Real answer: To assert without any reservation that it must requires absolute faith in pure naturalism and the current understanding of physics and related subjects. Could some peculiar circumstance arise that would negate or prevent the generation of sound through natural, technological or supernatural factors? Yes. To assert otherwise would be dogmatism, not objectivism. (Answer 9) More...
I wonder, in 10,000 years from now, will this question still be debated?
