A question kinda like "if a tree falls in the woods and no one is there to hear it... does it make a sound"

Question

The question is "Is sugar sitting in a bowl with no one there to taste it still sweet..."

I saw the question posted years ago on another site and figured i'd ask it here.

In my opinion it is still sweet. I say this because it posses the molecules that creat the sensation of sweetness. Whether or not someone is there to taste them they're still there to give off their sweetness. I concluded this because i also agree that a tree falling in the woods still makes a sound even if no one is there to hear it. And there seems to be a general consensus about the tree falling question... sound still travels, bounces of objects etc...

Some may say "sound", or "sweetness" is the sensation we get... and because it is subjective like that it is only realized when someone is there to experience it. However i dissagree with this. I feel our experience is merely an interpertation of an objective phenomenon. Making it there whether we are or not.

Answer 1

You're right. 'Hearing' and 'tasting' it are subjective. Those people are idiots, and this question is useless.

Answer 2

Hmmm....
Interesting question. I think you're kind of splitting hairs here. As far as the object possessing inherent properties (i.e., the chemicals causing the perception of sweetness when tasted) I would have to agree that these exist whether there is someone around or not. However, what you are asking (would it taste as sweet?) is dependent on the act of someone actually tasting it and perceiving the sweetness. So, if you ask if the properties of the sugar are the same whether someone is around or not, the answer is yes. If you ask whether it would taste as sweet if no one was there to perceive the sensation, the answer would be no.

It's basically the same concept for the tree that falls in the forest. If it falls, will it cause sound waves to occur? Yes. Would there still be a sound if no one was there to perceive it? No. Because sound being described this way is a product of someone's sensory perception.

Answer 3

No it does not make a sound. Sound is an interpretation in your brain. If your brain is not there then nothing can interpret of what is happening as sound. Something happens but its not sound. Same idea is saying a red chair is red even without someone looking at it. The chair is something, but the only reason it is read is because when the light reflects off the chair it hits your eye and your brain says its red. without your brain the char is just a substance that reflect a frequency of light its neither red or any other color.

Answer 4

Well, for those of us who believe in an objective reality...

It comes down to definitions.

Is a sound the vibration of air, or is it the sensation caused by vibrating air?

Is sweetness the sensation caused by tasting sugar, or the capacity of sugar to cause that sensation?

You can answer the question either way depending on your definition.

I think as long as we avoid the lunacy of saying "Perception is Essence" we can freely address the essence of perception.

Answer 5

you are absolutely right
we feel things when they "happen" around
it is not that things happen because we can feel
a falling tree will make a huge sound & sugar 'll still be sweet even if we dont eat it
Examples:
suppose a person is a diabetes patient & the doctor has told him that you can get in serious trouble if you eat even a tiny amount of sugar . Accidently that man injects some liquid sugar into his body. Now since he cannot taste the sweetness , does it mean that the substance wasn't sweet & hence was not harful for him.
No, it was still sweet & was equally hazardous for him even if he couldn't taste its sweetness.

Answer 6

i agree if a tree falls in the woods it will make a sound, same with your bowl of sugar. its sounds very appealing that the taste of sugar is only there if someone tastes it. but it is only a philosophically appealing.in reality we all know its false. but i will say in one way its also philosophically not that appealing. consider the following experience i had several times: i was quite impressed by this logic. with this back in my mind i looked at certain happenings in my life. many a times i have assumed someting wrong and am definite about it. like i remebered i have put sometimg someplace and there was no witness to that. for example though i donot remeber the exact incident. but it happened something like this: i remeber putting some key in my drawer. i am absolutely sure of it. there is no one else who saw where i put it. but it was actually in my pocket. if you apply the falling tree in the empty forest philosophy the key could very well have turned out into my drawer. why had it to turn out into my pocket? think.

Answer 7

And do you think the Flooftoid in Sastraginus IV would floof when knocked on its left head?

That quotation means our (human) "reality" is absolutely conditioned by our (human) perceptions and reasoning... "objective reality" is a realm beyond our scope...

Answer 8

I agree with you whole heartedly. Sound and sweetness exist outside of us. Like it or not the universe does not revolve around us and does not depend on us to interpret it.

Answer 9

sweet is a description.One would have describe the sugar,hence someone would have to taste it !

Answer 10

Yes; the objective subjective.

The Will is positive, the Judgment is negative.

The scope is objective reality.

Answer 11

Watch the ants. They never lie.