Introduction
Human thought has long been attracted to the theory of knowledge and the understanding of the nature of knowledge. People have asked themselves philosophical questions related to the reasons why one might think that they know something. In this regard, the age-old epistemological puzzle about a tree falling in a forest seems very relevant since it serves to illustrate how philosophical doctrines approach perception and knowledge. The question holds the following, if a tree falls in the forest and there is no one around to hear it, does it make a sound? This question provides the basis for making strong philosophical arguments that might be representative of either a positive or a negative answer. However, the most important issue is not the actual answer but the course of reasoning one takes to deliver and validate that answer. In this paper, the epistemological perspective is intertwined with the views of John Locke to argue that while sound will be possible, it will not exist without someone’s perception of it.
Why This Philosophical Puzzle is an Epistemological One
When considering the posed question from an empirical or scientific point of view, one might immediately state a positive response, claiming that the tree will make a sound when falling. Indeed, regardless of the presence of anyone to hear the sound, the falling tree will cause waves in the air that will produce sound. However, analyzing how one knows sound will be produced is essential. This philosophical puzzle is of epistemological nature because it appeals not only to the overall reasoning about the sound of the falling tree but also to the knowledge about that sound. Indeed, epistemology is a branch of philosophy that deals with the theory of knowledge and validates why and how knowledge is obtained. This direction of philosophical reasoning belongs to epistemology, defined as “the nature of knowledge, its possibility, scope, and general basis” (Al-Ababneh, 2020, p. 78). In other words, epistemology validates the essence of knowledge by analyzing the basis on which the understanding of a phenomenon is formed.
In the philosophical puzzle addressed in this paper, the question specifically concerns the knowledge about sound and the connection between the perception of sound and its existence. When finding the answer to the question, one should define what sound entails and what makes sound the phenomenon people know it to be. Such an approach is of epistemological nature since it seeks to identify how one determines whether the tree makes a sound (Al-Ababneh, 2020). In other words, within the framework of human perception, the sound is something that can be heard. If nobody hears the sound of the falling tree in the forest, it means that the tree does not make a sound. Moreover, within such a perspective, the very existence of the sound and the tree might be questioned if there is no one to perceive them audibly, visually, or with the help of other senses. The epistemological reasoning of the solution to the puzzle might be better illustrated when applied with a particular philosophical approach.
John Lock’s Perspective on the Philosophical Puzzle
When answering the question from an epistemological perspective, one should apply the theoretical frameworks proposed by John Locke. As a thinker promoting the theory of perception, Locke argued that any knowledge is “formed by our judgment” about objects based on the perception of the senses (Ott, 2020, p. 671). Indeed, knowledge, in Lock’s perspective, is a three-fold phenomenon since it is based on the objects, the sensation provoked by the objects, and simple ideas generated by the perception or sensations (Mandelbaum, 2019). The objects and their attributes are experienced by people differently, which is why one’s judgment might alter the knowledge about that object. In this regard, if someone were to see the tree and to hear the sound, they would experience different representations of reality and not the true reality.
Indeed, people’s knowledge about objects or phenomena is shaped by perception obtained through the senses. In Locke’s opinion, the “ideas we receive by sensation are often in grown people altered by the judgment” (Ott, 2020, p. 677). Thus, the idea of a tree is formed on the basis of the human experience of observing the tree, touching it, hearing the sounds, or smelling it. The knowledge of the tree is then formed based on the accumulated perceptions that trigger sensations and following ideas about the tree. In other words, the formed ideas make the representations of the material world possible; without the course of perception, the ideas are not formed, and the knowledge is impossible. This contemplation leads to an assumption that something that cannot be perceived does not exist.
Contrary to the empirical understanding of sound, the epistemological perspective emphasizes the subjectivity of knowledge rather than its universality. True knowledge is formed not on facts but on reasoning, which is based on the sensual perception of the world. When opposing the scientific views with the philosophical ones, one might refer to Lock’s account of sensible and insensible objects. Indeed, the thinker states that “when we go beyond the bare ideas in our minds and would inquire into their causes, we cannot conceive anything else to be in any sensible object” (Mandelbaum, 2019, p. 3). This perspective implies that only sensible objects imply knowledge or can exist for people’s perception. Therefore, if a tree falls in a forest where nobody can hear, the tree does not make a sound. The reason for such a statement is derived from the theory mentioned above of perception, which claims that it is a sensation that allows a phenomenon or object to exist in the form of an idea. A sound of a fallen tree is an idea formed as the result of sensation; without anyone to perceive it, the sound does not exist.
Conclusion
In summation, searching for an answer to a philosophical puzzle is a challenging task involving a multi-staged thought process and epistemological reasoning. The issues that might seem obvious from a scientific or empirical point of view acquire a more in-depth meaning and require validation when tackled from a philosophical perspective. The presented discussion of the philosophical puzzle has illustrated that knowledge is inherently predetermined by the perception in Locke’s opinion. Without an individual perceiving an idea, the idea does not exist. Thus, a falling tree will only make a sound if there is someone to hear it; without a listener, the sound does not exist, or at least there is no one to tell that it exists.
References
Al-Ababneh, M. M. (2020). Linking ontology, epistemology, and research methodology. Science & Philosophy, 8(1), 75-91.
Mandelbaum, M. (2019). Philosophy, science, and sense perception: Historical and critical studies. JHU Press.
Ott, W. (2020). Locke on the role of judgment in perception. European Journal of Philosophy, 28(3), 670-684.