On Tue, 2 May 2006, Christoph Reuss <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> Interesting. Is this something like if a tree falls in the forest and >> nobody is around.....does it make a sound? > >The laws of physics suggest it does. >
You are missing the distinction between "oscillations in the density of the air, propagating through space", and the subjective experience such oscillations apparently stimulate somehow via their interaction with the mechanics of our auditory sensing organs. But surely you are aware of that distinction, as the whole point of the existence of this question in our culture is to draw attention to it, in the manner of Nagel's "what it's like to be a bat". >> If nobody experiences the event, what was the event? Was it an event? > >The event was that a tree falls in the forest. There are always some >animals and other trees around to experience the event, or at least >notice the difference when they pass that place the next time... Part of the discussion surrounding the question is of course about such points - does notice taken by animals "count", by what level of animals, etc. But the fact that a tree has fallen when no one was there to hear does not certify that it made a sound, only that we can surmise that it caused the air to vibrate. -Pete _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [email protected] http://fes.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
