If a tree falls and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

Question

An old fashion question that's tricky...........

Answer 1

yes. i think so

Answer 2

This is a question that has been tormenting philosphers down the ages. Could anything be supposed to happen or even exist if there is nobody about to witness it. Or is all the phenomenal world just the imagination of the perceever and has no existence in its own right. Idealism postulated that even a boiling kettle could be just a figment of our imagination(if it skalled you hand that also will be just your idea) When the disciple of an idealist philosopher refused to move out of the way of a chargin elephent and was thrown away by the animal he asked his preceptor why did he run away when the animal came charging if the elephant was only an idea. Replied the preceptor, 'If the elephent was a mere idea even his running away was nothing else.' Coming to the falling tree if there is nobody about to see or hear there is not only any question of the tree making a sound but the very existence of the tree is thrown in doubt. Do you know that the only evidence which Descartes could cite even for his being is that I feel, therefore I am(Cognito ergo sum). Looking to the dissection of this feeling by modern psychologist even this personal conviction of our own existence is in grave doubt. And you are talking about some tree,if there is a tree, falling,if it fell, which make a sound, if it did.All just hypotheses!!!

Answer 3

You do know there is no right or wrong answer to this question. Some people say yes some people say no. It depends on who you ask and how they define sound or noise.

This is essentially a question of definitions, i.e. how you define sound or noise.

Here are the two basic answers.

Yes

A noise is a sound and a sound is a set of vibrating molecules referred to as sound waves. If a tree falls in the forest and makes a sound, it makes molecular vibrations, or sound waves, whether any human ear drum is around to sense them or not. So yes, it makes a noise. A person hearing it is irrelevant to the being of the sound. A person hearing it is only relevant to human consciousness of the sound.

Another argument for this viewpoint is based on theology. God observes the entire universe.

No

If a tree falls, and no one is around to hear it, it does not make a noise by definition. What is noise? What is sound? One must make sure to look at this question not from such a skewed view point to realize that he or she is being misled. From an early stage in our lives, through modern science, it is FACT that sound waves are processed in our brains, thus if we are not near the sound it is just an assumption that it does make a noise.

Sound travels through our ears, into the canal, and into the brain to allow for it to be processed by the brain, allowing for us to differentiate due to experiences that yes, it is that particular noise. However, one would not know the sound to be that way if they cannot imagine the situation. Thus, a human being or another entity must be present to absorb the vibrations, waves, etc in order to process the information.

Some take this further and claim that the whole universe does not really exist until it is observed.

Answer 4

if a tree falls and no one is around to HEAR IT, does it make a sound? it says right in the question that it makes a sound. And even then, what is so important to hear?

Answer 5

If no one can HEAR it, can someone SEE it? What if there is a person that can see it, and feel the vibration? The tree might not make a "sound" but the person would still be able to feel the vibration of the tree falling. But yet again, is vibrating a sound? If a deaf person were to feel the vibration would that count as "hearing" the tree fall. The tree would still fall, yes, but make a sound, it depends on what the definition of "no one" is.

Answer 6

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RE:
If a tree falls and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?
An old fashion question that's tricky...........

Answer 7

This is a true question of philosophy, and you must actually be agnostic enough to just let it go, for there is no true answer. Logic says that, yes, of course, it would make a sound, but then we must define what sound is. If we define sound as what becomes an electrical impulse traversing the surface of our brain and then what we interpret to be a "crash" or "boom", and if that electrical impulse doesn't happen because we are not near the tree, then technically, there is no sound if no one is around to hear it.

Answer 8

If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it .......

How do you know it fell ???

Coach from Cheers

Answer 9

sure.
if i fall and nobody is around to hear me fall doesn't mean there's no sound.
of course it makes a noise, silly
i think it funny bc there are people who actually get stumped on this question and don't know what to say

Answer 10

no because if no one is around to hear it than no one knows it makes a sound

Answer 11

Sensai, if it is important to the tree to make a sound, then perhaps it does. Have you tried asking the tree?