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"The possibility that sounds might be objects, entities, or things is an open question.  However, many theories of sound close the question down via reductive assertions. Some argue that sounds cannot be things because things are autonomous entities whereas sounds are relative. Others argue that sounds cannot be things because things are durable bodies whereas sounds are temporal phenomena. The following essay begins by reviewing and critiquing these arguments as they appear in musicology, sound studies, and philosophy.  Arguments against sound's autonomy are generally motivated by anthropocentric ideologies, which by presuming humans' ontological privilege reduce sounds to human experiences, practices, and conditions.  "