If a tree falls in the woods, and no one's around to hear it, does the tree make a sound?

Question

10 pts for most creative response

Answer 1

I am the falling tree, I am the sound, I am I, and there is no primacy to I. I and only I exist. I. I am everything and I am ignorant of nothing. Nothing is the consciousness of I.

Answer 2

No  the tree does not make a sound. The why is up to you, but if you're not there, you probably won't worry about it.

Answer 3

yes, it says "OOOOOWWWWWWW!!!!"and the ground under it says "What the heck!?"

Answer 4

Trees don't fall in the woods unless there is someone to hear it. Trees are desperate for attention.

Answer 5

The sound of one hand clapping, is the sound that only one ear can hear.

Answer 6

I think the falling tree makes sound waves that eventually reach someone, somewhere, maybe a bird, an insect, and, yes, of course, God hears it.

Maybe even the tree itself hears itself fall, just like when I talk to myself.  There is no one around to hear, but I hear it.

So the tree makes a sound.

Answer 7

It depends on whether you think that things exist/happen without someone actually being there to witness it.

Answer 8

Everyone misses the point, which IS NOT about sound or sound waves being heard or not heard, or about whether sound is different from noise. Those are excuses of metaphysicians who won't face the real question, which is:

Does existence exist independent of consciousness?

When seen in this light, it does not matter if you use "sound" or "noise"; it matters whether you think things happen whether or not a consciousness is there to perceive that it happens.

The belief that reality requires a consciousness is gaining in prevalence. It has been a staple of some eastern philosophies for thousands of years.

But it is fallacious logic called the Primacy of Consciousness. (The Primacy of Perception is also a fallacy. ["...perception [as] the causal product of atomic sensations." ] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Mer... )

The Primacy of Existence states that existence exists. Period. It does not require a consciousness having perception of a "thing" to make that "thing" a reality. In this case the "thing" is whether or not a "noise or a sound is generated." If we grant that it is generated, then it does not matter which definition of "that which was generated" you choose; some choose "sound," some choose "noise." But all of those who believe the fallacy that a consciousness must be there yet agree that there is a generation of sound waves, AND THEY AGREE IT DOES NOT TAKE A CONSCIOUSNESS to make the sound waves a reality--unless they are hard core in their belief that the tree would not even fall if no one was there to SEE it.

That is where the end result of the Primacy of Consciousness takes logic. I have seen questions in this forum that ask such things as, "When I did, will existence cease to exist?"

If the answer was yes, then it would require consciousness to give reality to "reality."

Answer 9

it's a koan, it is not suppose to have any logical answer. it suppose to help you not think logically, preferably not think at all in hope of transcending. if you must think, the simple answer to your question is yes and no, there is no classic proof.

many will answer yes, even if you aren't there to hear it, it still make a sound by reason. kinda like when you close your eyes, your computer is still there even though you aren't seeing it. like you know i'm using a computer to write this answer, yet you never seen me doing so.

on empirical epistemological level, suppose there is absolutely no way to verify and observe something, then does something still exist? in the koan, if there is no one to hear the noise, does noise still exist? if so, in a scientific realm, how are you suppose to prove the unverifiable? it's commonly agreed that just because something isn't verifiable does not prove its nonexistence. if not, what is that thing that's doing the observing, does that exist? symbolically this means the tree or the human in the koan or be it reason and logic. in other words, can human ear hear itself and exist alone? if there are no noise to verify your ear, are you sure you have good ears?

if the sound proves the ear and vice versa, then in one sense, they are the same thing, being both the observer and observed. you, this apple, this computer, the sound of birds, the sky, the stars, the taste of food are the same. then that brings the question of the whole. on metaphysical level, can something exist outside of all there is? the answer maybe no. you know the whole exist and yet it cannot be proven, because there is nothing outside of it.

Answer 10

A better question is;

'.... Do all the other trees laugh at it?'.

or maybe;

'... If it lands on a Mime, does anyone care?".

Answer 11

If there was no consciousness, then there would be nothing to experience the universe and if there is nothing experiencing than there is nothing to experience.  Or flip that: if there is something to experience, than something must be experiencing it.

However, ultimately, awareness does not need an object of awareness to be aware. And awareness of something does not necessarily mean experiencing it.

Also it is important to understand that something exists precisely because something can be aware of it.  If nothing is aware of something, absolutely, than there is no prove that that thing exists.  If things existed that nothing is aware of, than that means anything can exist, even the most impossible things, like a sleepy Pindorf with only one eye and hops on its ears or an iceberg in the Sahara desert that never melts. Logically the mind could say, well just because you haven't seen it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. But they fail to grasp that it doesn't exist precisely because it isn't within the field of awareness, awareness that reaches far beyond human activity and what is possible within the realms of the five sense.

Answer 12

No, I don't think it makes a sound only air pressure waves and they are not sound, unless there are proper apparatus around (an ear, and a brain) to translate those waves into sound.

Answer 13

The sound is not a noise that you heard, but the sound it had made, not only made a sound to all things around it, but also left a mark on the way down.

Answer 14

the tree hears it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 15

maybe...

Answer 16

If you can't see a child playing behind your car and run her over, was she really there?

Answer 17

What is the sound of one hand clapping?

Answer 18

there is NO ONE to hear  it...so no. N just a question... How Did It fall in the fist place? o.0