Subscribe to the blogs

Triple A Learning IB Blogs

June 8, 2010

On the silent fall of trees in the deepest forests

Filed under: Philosophy — Tags: , , , , — triplea_jmp @ 4:40 pm

A sound is a sound if it is recorded by a hearing apparatus – be it a human ear or an ultra-sensitive device, capable of calculating the frequency of such a sound as the one caused by the fall of a tree. A deaf person or a silent camera witnessing or recording the fall of a tree can only trust their eyes or lens as to the effect of the acoustic effect of the fall on the surrounding environment. Therefore, it is not the presence of a human being which confirms the actual occurrence of a sound but the ability for that human witness to register a sonic event in their brain. Regarding this old sylvan myth, let’s then follow Wittgenstein who famously remarked: ‘About what one cannot speak, one must remain silent.’ 

Read more…