If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it,
- Philalethes
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Re: If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear
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Re: If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear
your poll is woefully inadequate to answer the question.If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it,
Besides, philosophy and science are not 'yes/no' propositions!
About your question;
If a tree falls in the forest, and there are none to hear (goes the old Zen koan), does it make a sound?
~~~ sound
from dictionary dot com)
1. the sensation produced by stimulation of the organs of hearing by vibrations transmitted through the air or other medium.
2. mechanical vibrations transmitted through an elastic medium, traveling in air at a speed of approximately 1087 ft. (331 m) per second at sea level.
^^^^^^^^^^^
According to the first definition, no.
There would be no "organs of hearing" (assuming that there are no other "organs of hearing" around; squirrels, warthogs, bluebirds of happiness, faeries, whatever...) present.
And no, according to the second definition;
If there is no one perceiving those 'vibrations', they cannot/do not exist.
Only that which is perceived, exists!
That which is perceived exists!
That which exists is perceived!
Not a thing exists that is not perceived!
Not a thing is perceived that does not exist!
(There is no, nor can there be, any evidence to the contrary!)
All inclusive!!!
^^^^^^^^^^^
Actually, to 'know' that there is a forest and a tree, they must be perceived!
"Knowledge is perception!"
It is not possible that there can be Perspectives perceiving the existence of the tree, and that it falls, without being there to perceive accompanying sounds, if any.
A tree cannot fall in the forest unless the forest and the tree and the falling are all perceived (even by a rock!)!
The very question is, from that Perspective, in error.
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Re: If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it,
On how you define sound, that is.
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Re: If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it,
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Re: If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it,
You cannot write a poem and no one reads it.
You have thought/written/read it, even if no one else, and already decided that it is poetry.
"A word is not a Word until Spoken,
a heart is not a Heart until Broken!" - n
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Re: If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it,
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Re: If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it,
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Re: If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it,
- LuckyR
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Re: If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it,
Great post. This topic was exhausted way, way before post #900+StayCurious wrote: ↑February 17th, 2018, 11:11 pm These types of conversations can become very repetitive and monotonous because our general assumptions surrounding the definitions of particular words vary, as well as our own personal theories and opinions on what separates abstractions from reality. It almost belongs in a port regarding semantics and communications theory.
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Re: If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it,
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Re: If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it,
I agree, but it's just a too popularly discussed question to not get loads of reactions and people that "know what they're talking about".LuckyR wrote: ↑February 21st, 2018, 11:44 amGreat post. This topic was exhausted way, way before post #900+StayCurious wrote: ↑February 17th, 2018, 11:11 pm These types of conversations can become very repetitive and monotonous because our general assumptions surrounding the definitions of particular words vary, as well as our own personal theories and opinions on what separates abstractions from reality. It almost belongs in a port regarding semantics and communications theory.
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Re: If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it,
- Frewah
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Re: If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it,
Can there be some kind of disease for which there are no symptoms whatsoever.
If you agree, the answer is no. It makes no sense to think of events that cannot possibly be sensed or observed by anyone or anything. If there’s something that can sense that a tree has just fallen, maybe the tree itself or a bug, the answer is yes. I have to agree with Belinda.
- Hereandnow
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Re: If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it,
- angryy
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Re: If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it,
2024 Philosophy Books of the Month
2023 Philosophy Books of the Month
Mark Victor Hansen, Relentless: Wisdom Behind the Incomparable Chicken Soup for the Soul
by Mitzi Perdue
February 2023
Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature: How Civilization Destroys Happiness
by Chet Shupe
March 2023