If a tree falls in the forest, but no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

Question

Yet another paradoxical, enigmatic quesion that has plaugued philosophers for many centuries. I haven't been able to figure it out. Given what we know of sound, surely air waves are moving, but if no one is there to perceive them, then no one has heard it, and given a definition of what it means to be a sound, if it isn't heard, then does it exist? As a sound or perhaps just a bucnh of meaningless air waves?

Please be serious with your answer and take this in depth, for this question has evaded already many Yahoo! answerers, and if you should attempt to answer, and fail, I'll be grateful regardless and main gain some new insight anyways. :) G/L

Answer 1

Most Westerners go at this all wrong. We're still trapped by Aristotelian categories style of thinking. Is it or isn't it? Is it black, or is it white? Or just how gray is it?
This is not a is, or is not question. It is meant as an aide to meditation. The idea is to reflect on the question quietly and let it expand, and clear your mind.
The final answer is irrelevant.

Answer 2

This question is asked over and over again here.
The tree that falls cannot be heard if no one is there to hear it. But the movement of molecules always sends out waves that when heard are interrupted as sound. There are all sort of creatures in the forest including birds and bugs that could be picking up on those sound waves.

Whether or not a sound wave is heard or not, it still exists. Then we can ask....it exists as what?

I have come to the conclusion that there isn't an answer to this question. There would have to be a list of who and what weren't there.

Perhaps Dirt hears sounds, but can't interupt differently

Answer 3

I would have to say that it makes a noise, based on your definition of sound. Just because it was not heard by a human doesn't mean it wasn't heard by an animal. There are so many animals in the forest from birds to deer to squirrels to turkey, that it would be impossible for a tree to fall and there not be an animal in range of the sound waves. Just say for example, even though I think it would be impossible, that there were no animals in range that could hear it. There are worms in the ground and I am sure that they could feel the vibrations from the noise when the tree hit the ground. Even though deaf people cannot technically hear a sound, if the bass is deep enough they can feel it. I have a friend that is deaf and she can dance to alot of songs if the bass is deep enough, cause she can feel it. So I know what I am talking bout here. So there is one example of a sound existing even though it cannot be perceived with the ear. It is perceived with touch. Just my thoughts. Hope this helps with your conundrum.

Answer 4

Being as it is a tree there are most likely animals around so they probably heard it but cant tell anyone hey this tree just feel go check it out but even if no one is around a sound would not be created because all that would happen would be the vibrations that create sound bouncing off some object around the tree but without ears specifically the ear drum and tempanic nerve there would be no sound created because it takes those parts of the ear to turn the vibrations into a sound. Hope this answered your question need more specifics let me know
take care and God Bless

Answer 5

the motion of the tree falling creates a disturbance in the atmosphere - changes in pressure... causing waves, whether they be of sound, or the kinetic energy dispersed upon impact. humans, and other creatures with auditory receptors, perceive the vibrations as sound.

since the vibrations are ALWAYS created when a tree falls, on can postulate that SOUND is always created, even though there may not be a human nearby to hear it.

here's your practical experiment: place a recording device in the forrest, and wait for a tree to fall. barring the battery dying, it will eventually record the sound of a tree falling

Answer 6

see dude this totally depends upon the tree.i.e. its size weight,length,etc.If no body is around to hear its sound then the soundwaves u r talking about are completly meaningless.yes. the sound exists but if it dosen't reach any body then it cannot be said that it dose not exist.may be tose waves cannot reach tooooo far away that a human sitting kilometer'sssssss away can hear it.you just try to do some exp's.if u can.take a branch of a tree,make it stand in your backyard tie it with a rope go to the front side and make it fall.if you still dont get the ans. to u'r question than rather asking on yahoo.ask the books avilable in the library .please reply

Answer 7

Why is the big bang called that when sound doesn't travel through vacuums and there was no one around to hear it. All that can be said is that sound is the produced by waves at a certain frequency. If waves are produced (even though there is no one there to preceive them) when a tree falls in a forest a sound is produced.

Answer 8

Well, based on the fact that whenever a tree falls in the forest and somebody is there to hear it and it makes noise, logic would dictate that the same happens even though nobody is there to hear it.
According to quantum physics though,the process of observing appears to influence what is being observed.As Fritjof Capra puts it:"The crucial feature of quantum theory is that the observer is not only necessary to observe the properties of an atomic phenomenon, but it is necessary even to bring about these properties"
So go figure.

Answer 9

yes nature hear5s it the bugs and the birds and whoever lived in the tree and the sound waves are still produced , and are not invalidated or lose their physical properties because there is no human around to recieve it, life happens with or without us, just like the rest of the universe has and always will

Answer 10

Yes, it makes a sound. Whether someone hears it or not.

Put a tape recorder in the woods and wait. Just kidding, but if you did--there would be a tree falling sound on the tape, even if no one is present. Therefore a sound was made.