If a tree falls in the forest and there is one there to hear it does it make a sound?

Question

If a tree falls in the forrest and there is nothing around that is able hear it, does it still make a noise?

REMEBER THIS IS THE PHILOSOPHY SECTION, so answers relying solely on science (i.e. the falling creates vibrations in the air) will not be accepted.

Please explain your answers if possible.

I thankyou in advance.

Answer 1

No one there to hear it ?
It will make a sound.
Khalil Gibrain said
" Not a single leaf turns yellow and falls without the knowledge of the WHOLE Tree "
And so my friend it is echoed in the sounds of silence

Answer 2

This is a question that is often asked incorrectly, so let me clarify this. A tree falls in the forest. If vibrations are in the air, then it did make a sound.

Here is where most people trip up: confusing sound with noise. In order for there to be sound, the airwaves simply must vibrate. That's it. In order for it to be noise, those waves must be PERCEIVED. If nobody hears it, it may or may not have made sound. If nobody hears it, it most definitely did NOT make noise.

Don't believe me? Lookup the separate definitions. A sound is defined as vibrations that are capable of being detected (though not necessarily so). A noise is defined as an unpleasant sound.

Answer 3

We are not the centre of the universe (unless you're a solipsist & actually believe that it's all just an extension of your perception). The universe exists independent of us. If there were no humans in the world at all, a tree could still fall & it would still make a sound, whether or not there was anyone to hear it is irrelevant. All of nature is alive. Even objects have a life of sorts in this physical reality.

Just because we have senses to perceive the world around us doesn't meant that we are creating the world around us. It exists. Things are going on outside right now which I can't see & don't know because I'm inside. It doesn't stop them from happening. When I go outside I'll find flakes of snow on my windshield. They fell whether I was there to see them or not. And they are cold. Even if they don't fall on my cheek to have me find them cold. And they are beautiful & intricately shaped. Even if I don't get a microscope to verify that they are.

We are not that important! We don't create the world. We just exist within it. We encounter some things & miss others because we can't be everywhere at once but things still exist & occur without us around!

Answer 4

Philosophy doesn't rule out scientific answers. Philosophy stretches science into larger truths. Yes, the tree does make a vibration and it is sound. The truth is that no one on the planet lives disconnected with the whole. There may not be anyone in the immediate area to 'hear' the sound, but the vibration of that sound travels through the whole planet and everyone is exposed to it. You can hear it if you choose to listen. Every minute movement is available to our senses, if we choose to train ourselves to 'hear' it. So yes, if it makes a vibration as scientific evidence can show, then it makes a 'sound.' This vibration can be 'heard' by anyone choosing to train themselves to feel the vibration.

If you take this one step further and say that God hears everything, then all sounds are heard by someone. Humm... are prayers from trees answered?

Answer 5

All the Universal phenomena that it takes for a sentient being to detect a sound have happened whether or not any sentient being is there to detect it or not.

But of course that does not make it a sound. I like the philosophy* that every sentient being creates A personal universe from THE actual universe, and they are inextricably linked but not the same, one being a conscious sub-set, or approximation, of the other.

So a sound is derived in the being's personal universe from the total phenomena in THE actual universe.

ps please explain how the question was possible if there was no-one there to experience its conditions or pose it. lol

Answer 6

Yes,it will make changes in the harmonious vibrations to itself and everything it comes into contact as it falls and comes to a rest. As the tree collides with other things the contact creates a unique vibration or sound wave which may or may not be audible to most humans.

Answer 7

If the forest is situated in the moon then ofcourse there will b no sound,and in case the forest is situated in the earth then it will create a noise for sure but you see as there is nothin around it which was able to hear the sound it means that we have no evidence that there was a noise.

Answer 8

The answer is yes in either case of whether there is sound (vibration of the airwaves) or noise (the perception of sound). The proof is that once the tree stood but now it is laying on the ground.

Answer 9

Your first question is:
If a tree falls in the forest and THERE IS ONE THERE to hear it does it make a sound?
The answer is obviously YES, because a falling tree does make a noise and there was one there to hear it too.
If you want an answer to your second question as well, then you should post it separately! This will allow all of us to earn extra points.

Answer 10

Its a koan, you know, not something to be jammed out from yahoo answers.
You're meant to sit down and think pretty hard about that one for 15 years or so, and then burst out laughing, locked in a wonderous joke that only you and a few special others get...
Or better yet, burst out an answer like "three pounds of flax".