Does a tree exist if no one is there to observe it?

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DaveC426913 said:
This is completely false. Why would you say such a thing?

Are you saying that when the tree hits the ground, the air around the tree is not moved? Does it not propagate these movements in a spherical front radiating out from the tree at the speed of sound?

I am not at all saying that. If I did I would accept the notion of a mind-independent structured world.
 
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This one isn't philosophy either. Dave is right, the riddle is a silly one that reduces to an argument over the definition of "sound". If a "sound" is a pressure wave, then yes, it exists whether anyone/thing hears it or not. If "sound" is what is detected by our ears, then it doesn't. The line of discussion about whether anything exists independent of the mind is just overzealous Matrix fandom.

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