I Have Heard of George Berkeley...I Think.

The following is merely my viewpoint on the subject. It is not definitive, nor should it sway your own answer if you have one.

Q: If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

A: The answer is yes. The question assumes that the listener occupies a standing greater than the body which makes the sound. At the very least, the two are equal. One cannot doubt the existence of one without also having uncertainty of the other.

If the philosophical inquiry were phrased differently-

“If an object does not make a sound, does a person have the capacity to hear?”

-then the answer would be yes. The ability is present, regardless of any exercise of it or a lack of stimulation to activate it. Therefore, the tree has fallen even if it is not observed or heard by a third party.

If the question is viewed from another perspective, perhaps one that is less literal, the answer would still be yes. Let us assume that a person performs a great deed, but no one witnesses it. Though the accomplishment is universally unacknowledged, it exists. Even if it should have no effect on a grand scale, it occurred. To wait for recognition is unnecessary.

If the circumstances of the question are viewed from another perspective, perhaps under less than ideal terms, the answer would still be yes. Let us assume that the position of the listener is still favored in comparison to the tree. The perceived power of the listener is faulty because one presumes that the listener possesses the sole quality to confirm the presence of said tree by privilege. The fact that the former is not aware of the tree, however, is a testament to its limited scope of cognition, not an innate ability to deny the being of an object.