If a Tree Falls ....
There is an old philosophical question: If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a noise?
The subjective idealists said no. A noise is a perception, an experience in someone's mind. If there is no experience, there is no noise.
Aristotle said yes. A noise is a "potency," the physical event that has the power to create that perception. If the physical event occurs, then there is a noise. Today, of course, we know that the physical event is a vibration of the air (or of water), which our eardrums detect and our brains convert to a subjective perception of noise.
This question has always been presented as an insoluble puzzle, but the answer should be obvious: It depends on your definition of noise.
If we define noise as a subjective perception, then the falling tree that no one hears does not make a noise. If we define noise as vibrations in the air that have the power to cause this subjective perception, then the falling tree that no one hears does make noise.
The subjective idealists said no. A noise is a perception, an experience in someone's mind. If there is no experience, there is no noise.
Aristotle said yes. A noise is a "potency," the physical event that has the power to create that perception. If the physical event occurs, then there is a noise. Today, of course, we know that the physical event is a vibration of the air (or of water), which our eardrums detect and our brains convert to a subjective perception of noise.
This question has always been presented as an insoluble puzzle, but the answer should be obvious: It depends on your definition of noise.
If we define noise as a subjective perception, then the falling tree that no one hears does not make a noise. If we define noise as vibrations in the air that have the power to cause this subjective perception, then the falling tree that no one hears does make noise.
posted by C. Siegel at 5:31 PM
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