Philosopher George Berkeley once came up with the famous thought experiment: ,If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?, The tree will undoubtedly give off vibrations. But these vibrations can only be called sound if it is received and recognized as sound in our nerve centers. So as long as there is no one to perceive the tree, there is no sound. This experiment has raised quite a few philosophical riddles.
Unobserved existence
The main mystery concerns the existence of the tree. How can something exist without being observed? How can it be said that the tree exists if no one sees, hears or smells it? If you relate this question back to science you can say that the tree exists and that people can observe it.
Berkeley developed subjective idealism. He said that something only exists when it is perceived. Because there is no one who can observe the tree, the tree does not exist at all and therefore does not make any sound.
Another theory by Berkeley states that an object consists of sensory impressions (smell, sight, hearing). According to him, even with this theory the tree does not exist and therefore there is no sound.
Knowledge of the unobserved world
Another question that the thought experiment raises is whether the observed world works the same as the unobserved world. Most people assume that an unobserved event cannot have an effect on other recent events. This means that an event could have no meaning in the present. This makes a situation exactly the same if this event had not occurred.
To exist
The most important question raised by the thought experiment is what the difference is between existence and perception. Because if a tree falls without any observation, there is no way to prove that the tree exists. This question raises other philosophical issues. Because what do we actually mean by existence?
Media
But nowadays the philosophical question can also be interpreted differently. The question dates back to the 17th century. At that time there was no mention of the media world we live in now. The media is now more present than ever and to what extent are we influenced by the media?
The media plays an important role in spreading sound. Take Hurricane Sandy as an example, which caused considerable damage to New York and Haiti. News broadcasts, YouTube and other media have spread the sound of Sandy around the world, while only a few million people have heard the real sound. So you can say that the power that the media has is great. She determines which images we see. This gives the media the power to change our image of reality.
Jean Paul Sartre claimed that damage and destruction can only occur when people are involved. A fallen tree due to storm Sandy has only caused damage when it is given a special place in someone’s home. This undoubtedly happened in New York. But what about Haiti? There is almost nothing or nothing at all mentioned about this in the media. Don’t we worry about them? Do we consider their fate less important? Everyone can answer this question themselves, but the media makes it difficult for us to sympathize with them when only images of New York are released. Yet we are watching TV about Sandy, while an article about the same storm in Haiti is not worth reading in full. The question is therefore whether we attach more significance to the residents of New York or whether we allow ourselves to be influenced too much by the media.
And so the age-old philosophical question ,If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?, in turn raising new questions and then more questions. Ultimately it is up to you to fill in what you believe or what you think.
Esse is perceived