If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there, does it still make a sound?

The answer may depend on:

– what kind of tree?

– what is meant by some ‘one’? Are animals, other trees, ghosts etc. included? What about deaf beings?

– is sound thought of as vibrations solely, or do we think about it as a relational phenomenon, where ‘vibration-receiving-material is needed (yes, a forrest would work), but is it then the tree or forrest that makes the sound?

 

To ask differently, we may listen to artist David Horvitz:

If a tree is surrounded by an asphalt parking lot does it make a sound?

 

And additionally:

In what way may we still listen

to the falling trees,

even when we are absent,

and how may we listen

to the trees locked in their asphalt prisons

– what stories do they have to tell,

or simple cries for help to cry?

 

[Photos are sourced from google.]