In Forests Trees Fall
" If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound ?" There are some old puzzles that have physically and philosophically raised questions about what happens when a tree falls if no one is there to perceive it. It questions not the role of a tree in a forest ecosystem but the reality which is perceived by an individual – be it you, I, the tiger, the deer, the butterfly, the ant. It is a fundamental question answered soundly by science, but failed to be understood as an extension to other things, say, for example, if a tree falls and no one is around to hear it – or see it – does it matter anyone ? A road winds through Kanha's prime Sal forests at the edge of a meadow The philosophical question therefore raises an eye, it twitches my nerves, and I find something little but vital missing. This missing information, perceived today more than it was in the yester-years, is that of the raging war between ecology and economy that the ...