Kinds of Noise: On the Objective and Subjective Conceptions of Noise

“Noise” is a fuzzy and multifaceted term that can be investigated from different perspectives. I will focus on noise as it is understood within auditory experience and distinguish two different meanings of it. Noise can be objective and subjective. It is objective when we define it in terms of the physical qualities of sound, namely, by referring to the ‘partials’ that compose it. Noise is subjective, instead, when we define it by appealing to the general usage of it as an unwanted sound that triggers an unpleasant perceptual experience. Each notion captures something important about noise: on the one hand, we need the objective notion in order to correctly describe some common aural experiences; on the other hand, we need the subjective notion to explain why sounds within a specific soundscape may be liked or disliked by different perceivers. The aim of the paper is to identify and discuss these two conceptions of noise, leaving the possibility of their interaction to further research.