"If a tree falls..."

[Fred Shapiro]

Can anyone help me determine the origin of the philosophical conundrum "If
a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, does it make a sound?"

Fred Shapiro


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Fred R. Shapiro                             Editor
Associate Librarian for Collections and     YALE DICTIONARY OF QUOTATIONS
  Access and Lecturer in Legal Research     Yale University Press,
Yale Law School                             forthcoming
e-mail: fred.shapiro at yale.edu               http://quotationdictionary.com
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