In my journals I have page after page of large and small ideas, research ideas, notes to myself, and occasionally share them. Here\u2019s one from today.<\/p>\n
\u2013 The philosopher\u2019s puzzle of whether a tree that falls in the woods makes a sound, posits that someone walking in the woods discovers a fallen tree, and wonders whether it had made “a sound” when it fell. \u00a0It presents it as a general question about unanswerable questions.<\/p>\n
Endless discussions on subjects like that still consume philosophical discussions. \u00a0What they seem to miss is whether it matters, whether what we can conclude about a lack of information makes any difference. \u00a0It can, but it might also be only a difference in what we know, and in how we observe it.<\/p>\n
One could ask the same question in an answerable way by turning it around. You could equally ask the greater question of whether a fallen tree ever contained the breath of life.<\/p>\n
The breath of life is equally or perhaps even more elusive than the thundering crash of a falling tree, a sound that leaves no visible mark. The past life that built the tree is equally invisible, but evident in the layer upon layer of the tree\u2019s construction, and in the upturned root mass, and the deep leaf compost all around it, the hole in the canopy above.<\/p>\n
So the “unanswerable question” can be used to take you on a path of exploration. \u00a0The \u201cformal realities\u201d of the mind (at a loss without information) and the \u201cphysical realities\u201d of the world can be connected,<\/p>\n
Such connections between formal and physical realities are not threatened at all by \u2018seeds of doubt\u2019 and being left open to question, as they themselves are the products of open questioning. \u00a0They may change, but they\u2019re made stronger by discovering the unexpected, not weaker.<\/p>\n
The puzzle is not about whether all questions about reality are answerable as some clearly are and some are not. It\u2019s more about whether reality has any independent existence from our information, and if not, do we need to take reality to be what someone else says it is, or something discoverable.<\/p>\n
Asking the question the right way the answer is clearly, yes, information and things are constructed independently, and no, you need to decide what to believe yourself, and can often confirm for yourself what others say.<\/p>\n
How the puzzle is posed makes it seem as if it\u2019s about whether the unanswerable questions if life give you a sound basis for sweeping metaphysical proofs. \u00a0That’s more “P.T. Barnum” theatrics once you see the “strange attractor” of its hidden assumptions.<\/p>\n
Unanswerable questions might prove something quite useful, or be great leads. \u00a0Where there is neither a use or an answer, it\u2019s quite possible that they don\u2019t mean much at all, and you might as well continue on with other things. ;- )<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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In my journals I have page after page of large and small ideas, research ideas, notes to myself, and occasionally share them. Here\u2019s one from today. \u2013 The philosopher\u2019s puzzle of whether a tree that falls in the woods makes a sound, posits that someone walking in the woods discovers a fallen tree, and wonders … Continue reading Did a fallen tree grow in the woods??<\/span>