4. The Argument from Vacuums

Author: O'Callaghan, Casey

Source: Sounds, October 2007 , pp. 47-57(11)

Publisher: Oxford Scholarship Online Monographs

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Abstract:

If sounds are distal events that do not pass through the medium, what is the role of the medium? Is the medium a necessary condition on the existence of a sound, or is it merely a necessary condition on the perceptibility of a sound (as light is a necessary condition for the perceptibility, but not the existence, of a color instance)? This chapter contends that sounds require a medium by arguing that certain audible qualities are medium-relative. An important distinction between normative standards for perceiving visible versus audible qualities allows us to draw the stronger conclusion that no sounds exist in vacuums.

Keywords: distal events; medium-relative; perceptibility of sound; audible qualities; vacuum

Document Type: Research article

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