I think if we can imagine the forest we can imagine the sound. I know the point is supposed to be that only humans seem to have to categorize their world by naming things and phenomena as in a disturbance of the air in the form of waves is only sound when we hear it and call it that. But, I think the original question is ill-formed since a forest is not a forest until we see it and name it as such - so how could a tree fall in it if we weren't there to call it a tree or see it fall?
2006-07-06 16:49:39 · 5 answers · asked by 3Monkeys 1 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
yaya...
But that is the conclusion you'd have to grant if you'd first grant that there is NO sound without a perceiver. Esse est percipi. Berkeley was assuming he solved the problem.. and that there was someone looking over the forest, vis. God. So there are both sounds and forests even when we don't look. Of course that's not even close to what we believe now.
If you really think "To be is to be perceived" then there is NO FOREST. When I close the door behind me, the room I formerly was in vanishes. When I open the cupboard, various sundries materialize. My brain, which I don't sense in any tangible way, is just as non-existent as a scream in outer space.
That's Empiricism taken to the extreme.. a direction it had to go to resist this very notion.
It hasn't really succeeded yet, heh.
2006-07-06 18:45:34 · answer #1 · answered by -.- 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You recognize the difficulty very well. The original question is posed as if someone were SECRETLY around but no one saw him or her. Well, imagine that an atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki and we weren't there. Did it make a sound? More than likely, it did, at least to those who weren't melted at ground zero.
Philosophy of Language loves to come up with gems like this and then write papers as if these were real problems, talking about sound waves and perceptions and dopey definitions. You hit the nail right on the head. However, you will probably be banished from the Philosophy Departments for ruining their fun.
2006-07-07 00:02:12 · answer #2 · answered by Bentley 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Like most things in life, most humans relish in taking things out of context, twisting them, analyzing them to the point where the original means absolutely nothing.... Zero value.
This original question is based in and is for/about common sense, which far too many humans LACK! Calculating the universe and creating artificial intelligence.... EASY! A tree falling and making a sound or not???? Gee, its a crisis! (Regardless of in what forest)!
If a tree falls anywhere and only deaf people are around, does it make a sound?
Also..... The reason why that question is "Over asked", is BECAUSE so many people lack common sense! Which proves my point. Good luck!
2006-07-15 18:35:36 · answer #3 · answered by Izen G 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Of course it makes a sound, not only scientifically speaking but also through the fact that even if you are not there personally there are many hearing lifeforms there to hear the sound. It's hubris to think that humanity must be present to make something a reality.
2006-07-14 13:11:38 · answer #4 · answered by kalischild57 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
damn you guys are at a much higher level of philosophy than i.. i have a quesiton for you.. i cant seem to understand how the quote relates to the fact of humans categorizing their world by labeling things.. could ya tell me?? im usualy good at breaking things down but reading what you wrote kinda gets me thinking i have to know something that you left out in order to understand the whole shmeal.. so pleaes if you wouldnt mind could you explain to me somehow? id apreciate it
2006-07-07 00:25:10 · answer #5 · answered by itschris 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋