Philosophers are skilled in resolving puzzles, which often constitute the primary object of their studies and research. Yet, some of these conundrums do not seem to have one clearly-defined answer and thus provide an opportunity for a debate. One of the examples of such philosophical puzzles is the falling tree problem, which states, “If a tree falls in the forest and there’s no one around to hear it, does it make a sound?” It was originally inspired by the ideas of Irish philosopher George Berkeley who studied the issues of whether objects continue to exists when no one perceives them (Dobrin & Morey, 2019). The responses to the falling tree question will vary since people adhere to different perspectives, which all utilize appropriate reasoning and viable ideas. One of the most interesting approaches to this question can be derived from viewing it as an epistemological problem following the ideas of John Locke.
It is important to start by defining epistemology and establishing all of the essential aspects of this approach. Epistemology can be viewed as one of the branches of philosophy which focuses on studying questions concerning the scope and nature of knowledge, as well as reasonable belief (Ballantyne, 2019). It examines the problem of how the human mind is capable of knowing and deals with the issues linked to the limits of a person’s comprehension of the world around them. Therefore, the question of the falling tree can be perceived as an epistemological problem since, at its core, lies the problem of knowledge, namely, whether it is possible to know that the tree made a sound.
John Locke, an English philosopher of the 17th century, was one of the leading thinkers of his period who significantly contributed to the development of epistemology. His core belief concerning discipline was based on the idea that human knowledge must stem from experiences. Locke stated that when attempting to comprehend a certain phenomenon, a person must rely not on their logic or reasoning but on direct sensory experience with it. It is possible to say that Locke’s ideas were considerably influenced by his occupation since he was a physician, and he understood that choosing the right treatment required consistent experiments to find the solution.
When approaching the question of the falling tree from the perspective of John Lock, one needs to consider the role of experience. Locke was certain that every human is born without any pre-set ideas in their minds and that everything which enters the consciousness comes from experience only (“Introduction,” n.d.). According to the philosopher, experiences can generally be divided into two distinct types, namely, these are sensations and reflections. The former stem from the outside, in other words, from the outer world, including the notions of large, smooth, and heavy, while the latter come from the inner world, for example, love, hate, and even thinking. These experiences form ideas in the mind of a person, which also can be broken into two kinds, simple and complex ones. Complex ideas constitute a number of sensory sensations, for instance, a person, when holding a black book, will get the ideas of black and rectangles.
Finally, ideas which occur in a person’s mind are ultimately caused by qualities of objects with which the person interacts. Quality is a power which places an idea in the conscience, and there are two types of qualities, primary and secondary ones (Olson & Ramirez, 2020). The former are the qualities which are inherent to every object, namely, shape, number, size, number, texture, solidity, motion. While the secondary qualities constitute powers, which belong to objects and which can cause people to experience sensations in the mind (“Introduction,” n.d.). This is the key idea to answering the falling tree question in Locke’s fashion. According to the philosopher’s ideas, sound must be viewed as a sensation in the mind of an individual, which is caused by quality, in other words, the power of an object.
During the act of falling, the tree is going through the air, which constitutes the medium, and as a result, it triggers waves which are spread throughout the medium. It is important to note that these waves are not sound in themselves but rather they merely cause the sensation of sound in the auditory apparatus of a person. Therefore, sounds occur within the conscience and not outside. This makes it possible to assume that Locke’s response to the question of whether a tree makes a sound when there are no people around would be negative. Moreover, following the logic of the philosopher, the tree never makes a sound even when there are people nearby. This happens because the sound takes place in the brain and is caused by the impact waves in the air, in other words, the medium. Moreover, a person who has never experienced the sensation of the sound of the falling tree, when hearing it out of context, may not associate it with a falling tree because they lack experience. Only the individual who in the past observed falling trees and experienced the sound can recognize it since he has experience.
I think that the falling tree question provides philosophers with a reliable model which allows them to test their approaches to epistemology and compare them with others’ ideas. I completely support the potential reasoning of John Locke and his perspective on this puzzle since I share his idea that everything in life stems from experience. When trying to solve this question, I would implement the same approach to the problem and would have come to the same conclusion. It is clear that the tree itself cannot produce any sound, but rather, the impact waves sent over the air which resulted from the tree’s acceleration can cause a sensation of sound in the brain. Additionally, the previous experience of falling trees also plays an important role in a person’s knowledge of the sound associated with the falling tree.
The question “If a tree falls in the forest and there’s no one around to hear it, does it make a sound?” is one of the main puzzles in philosophy. The potential perspective of John Locke on it has an interesting conclusion concerning a person’s experience of the sound. The question itself constitutes an epistemological problem since it attempts to ascertain whether it is possible to hear a sound and thus concerns the sphere of human knowledge. Locke’s alleged answer to the aforementioned philosophical problem would imply that the sound occurs in the mind of a person as a result of the waves triggered by the falling tree reaching the auditory apparatus of the person. Thus, despite the fact whether anyone listens to the falling tree, it does not produce any sound, but rather it has a quality which can cause it in the human brain.
References
Ballantyne, N. (2019). Knowing our limits. Oxford University Press.
Dobrin, S. I., & Morey, S. (2019). Mediating nature: The role of technology in ecological literacy. Routledge.
Introduction to John Locke. (n.d.). Ways of Knowing. Web.
Olson, M. H., & Ramirez, J. J. (2020). An introduction to theories of learning. Routledge.