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Philosophy is a science that studies the most profound aspects of knowledge, reality, and understanding. The scholarship seeks to acquire significantly finite elements regarding reason, existence, values, and knowledge. As per philosophy, a truth in one perspective can become an opinion when viewed differently. The absence of a standard view about reason, knowledge, reality, and existence amounts to a fundamental problem worth researching and solving. Critical discussion, systematic presentation, rational argument, and questioning are examples of philosophical methods utilized to identify unbiased truth. As such, philosophy as a science matures with time to offer philosophers better comprehension of knowledge and reality-related concerns.
Historical Development of Philosophy and Contemporary Positions Concerning the Nature of Knowledge and Reality
Philosophy is a Greek term meaning the study of knowledge and the existence of reality. It is one of the oldest sciences that impact the lives of humans to date. Like any other discipline, philosophy keeps experiencing new classifications and definitions of knowledge and reality as new players come into the domain. Ancient, modern, medieval, and nineteenth and twentieth centuries philosophies are some of the existing classifications of the scholarship. A significant difference between the old and contemporary philosophies concerns the general view of knowledge seekers as philosophers. Marmodoro (2022) says that the term philosopher means a scholar, while philosophy refers to the general search for scientific knowledge during ancient times. For example, Carr (2021) uses the case of Isaac Newtons work in arithmetic and its description as mathematical philosophy to depict the generality of the term in the ancient days. However, the development of philosophy through the medieval and modern periods led to more distinct classifications.
Some disciplines initially marked as philosophy now fall into unique fields of study such as physics, mathematics, medicine, and astronomy, generally known as the natural philosophy during the antique era. Other currently specific disciplines initially falling under the general philosophy term include psychology, linguistics, sociology, and economics (Okrent, 2020). Metaphysics, epistemology, logic, and ethics form the current subfields under academic philosophy. The subareas focus mainly on the ultimate nature of reality, beliefs, knowledge, rules of inference, and moral values (Okrent, 2020). Different scholars under each of the four philosophical subfields also exist, each attracting a substantial following leading to movements that often contradict one another. It is expected that the field of philosophy will continue changing with time and as humans further their search for unbiased understanding, truth, and reality.
Philosophical Puzzle
Philosophy concerns issues that never make sense to the average person. For example, things like illusion, reality, and meaning creation do not matter to many individuals. However, philosophy purposes of identifying such using all the possible ways available. The present work applies philosophy to solve a long-time riddle of whether If a tree falls in the forest and theres no one around to hear it, does it make a sound? The work employs John Lockes approach to investigate the problem and elucidate possible judgements.
Surveillance and Reality
Understanding a philosophical case demands that one acknowledges its basic concepts and situation. For example, reality and observation are crucial aspects worth appreciating when analyzing a philosophical paradox like the one involving a tree falling in the forest. Sound, as a sensible and mechanical process, constitutes a crucial reality to consider. Other reality elements include a tree, falling, and an observer. Trees are actual elements with independent features notable by humans. Typically, a tree grows vertically, especially in a forest where plants compete to access sunlight for photosynthesis. Any tree lying horizontally on the ground thus implies falling. Several other observations also need to be present to confirm falling. Such elements include broken parts, exposed roots, and the hurting of nearby plants. These traits imply a fallen tree, which makes observable noise during the falling process.
Moreover, sound refers to wave motion in the air perceivable by audio-decoding objects such as a persons ears. The sound wave exists due to the vibration of bodies such as wire and moving objects. The point that sound occurs whenever there is pulse implies that it can be produced even without the presence of a person to hear it. The observers part in this scenario plays a significant role in demystifying the riddle. At least three types of observers can be utilized to analyze the situation philosophically. The first observer is an individual with a prior experience of a falling tree and what happens during such an event. The other observer is someone without exposure, while the last person is a deaf individual. These cases provide unique realities that require consideration when unraveling the present philosophical riddle.
The persons with an experience of how trees fall will answer yes to the question posed by the problem. The positive response comes from Lockes ideas of sensation and reflection (Locke, 2019). The other party without such an experience will respond by possibly saying I do not know or why? based on Lockes argument that innate ideas never exist (Locke, 2019). The deaf person will give a negative answer because of the inability to perceive sound due to the lack of sensory organs.
A Question of Existence
Existence remains a central philosophical mystery that philosophers scrutinize to test a situations genuineness. In this riddle, aspects of existence include the tree and sound. The observer is a human being involved in making the decisions or experiencing nature and is perceived to exist logically. Realists maintain that a tree always exists whether a person knows it or not (Jones, 2021). An individual thus remains a perceiving being who may be present or absent when a natural event occurs. Immaterialist philosophers further argue that whatever exists is perceivable (Jones, 2021). The two philosophies significantly imply the possibility of a tree existing and falling without a persons knowledge, which never means the absence of a sound.
The Epistemological Problems of the Enigma
The paradox surrounding the philosophical issue posed here touches on several aspects. Examples of such include whether an observer must be there for an independent event to take place. The other concern touches on the issue of whether all that exists is only what is known to humans, and whether humans must always question regular occurrences taking place in the environment. Realism philosophy holds an essential answer to these and many other philosophical concerns regarding reality and existence. For example, Roy Baskar, a British realist, posits that natural events will continue to occur whether humans exist or not (Jones, 2021). The philosopher further insists that trees in the forest will fall due to natural forces even when an observer is absent.
Moreover, realism posits that sound, which results from the vibration of air particles, will still come out of a falling tree and travel in the air regardless of the observers presence or absence. Therefore, Baskar purports that a world unknown to humans still exists (Jones, 2021). Realists maintain that trees, the falling process, and sound are actual things that do not need the presence of a person to occur. Consequently, a realists response to the riddles inquiry will be yes, implying the actual-ness of the natural events.
Lockes Approach
John Lockes philosophical concepts play a significant role in unraveling the present riddle. Various concepts put forward by the scholar are worth appreciating for a successful solution. Lockes arguments that ideas are never innate, experience forms ideas, sensation and reflection, critical realism, and the four types of existents (Locke, 2019), for example, delineate the riddle substantially. Lockes purpose is to distinguish reality from the individuals perception. Acknowledging the various concepts of Locke means that people will give different responses to the riddle.
The argument that no idea is innate means that a person without prior knowledge or experience concerning falling trees will give the I do not know or why response. That is because the brain of such a person will not perceive the independent event. Someone with prior experience will give a yes answer to the question because of the reflection aspect (Locke, 2019). Lockes appreciation of critical realism allows him to believe in the emancipation of sound from independently falling trees because that is an actual event. Lastly, the concepts of ideas and things, as described in Lockes kinds of existents, connote reflection and sensation (Locke, 2019), allowing someone with prior experience to say yes to the paradox.
In conclusion, the riddle discussed above covers epistemology in its most basic form. Epistemology is a philosophical term that investigates what constitutes comprehension and reality, together with how humans acquire them. People often treat knowledge as what they know to be true. The process through which it is acquired also plays a role in shaping the so-called truth. The paradox discussed here shows that veracity is significantly independent of the observer. Thus, Epistemology helps people acknowledge biases and self-doubt when defending what they call the truth. Nonetheless, the adoption of critical realism in the above discussion helps to understand that understanding exists beyond the humans understanding and perception.
References
Carr, W. (2021). Philosophy and education. In W. Carr (Eds.), The RoutledgeFalmer Reader in Philosophy of Education (pp. 34-49). Routledge.
Jones, T. (2021). George Berkeley. A philosophical life. Princeton University Press.
Locke, J. (2019). An essay concerning human understanding. Strelbytskyy Multimedia Publishing.
Marmodoro, A. (2022). Why studying the history of philosophy matters. Think, 21(60), 5-20.
Okrent, M. (2020). The truth of being and the history of philosophy. In A. Malachowski (Eds.), A Companion to Rorty, 281-296.
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