Theory of Knowledge
Fall 2004
Final Exam Directions: This is a take-home exam. All the questions are about the following example. Write a total of 5 to 10 pages in response to the questions. Exams are due by Wednesday December 15th at noon.

Smith is walking along the side of the road thinking about the possibility that he is a brain in a vat. He sees Madam Malarkey and Magic Feldman drive by. They are on their way to the movies to see Star Wars, Episode 68. At the time, a Neil Diamond song is playing on one of the local radio stations, but they don't know this because their car radio is not on. Madam Malarkey has ten tea leaves in her pocket. They think that the movie begins at 8:00 because yesterday the tea leaves said that it starts at that time. They have not checked today's tea leaves. Meanwhile, Madam Malarkey's mother has said that it is not Madam Malarkey in the car with Magic, but rather her twin sister Marla Malarkey. Of course, she does not actually have a twin sister. When smith sees the car go by he believes that he sees Madam and Magic in a car. Since they were driving fast, if he had looked up an instant later, he would not have seen them. However, a film crew in the neighborhood has designed several perfectly realistic two dimensional images of Fords with people loking just like Madam and Magic. Had Smith not seen the real car, he would have seen one of these perfectly realistic images and believedd that he saw Madam and Magic in a car. As they are driving along, Magic notices that the light indicating that the seat warmer in the car is on is on. He touches the seat, expecting it to feel hot. At first he thinks that he does have a sensation of heat, but then he realizes that it was just his expectations that led to this belief and that he hasn't actually had a sensation of warmth. He then turns the seat warmer on, thinking that the warmth of the seat will cause his hair to grow and cover the troublesome bald spot he's been developing. As they are driving to the theater, they come to a fork in the road. They have no information about which way to go. Magic thinks that they should go to the left and Madam thinks that they should go to the right. After some discussion, they decide that they are both reasonable. They theyn notice Smith along the side of the road, tell him this entire story, and ask for directions. At this point, Smith concludes that he would rather be a brain in a vat.

1) Does Madam Malarkey use caffeinated or decaffeinated tea leaves?
2) Will they get to the movie on time?
3) Would it be wrong for the government to prohibit radio stations from playing Neil Diamond songs?
4) Is Smith justified in concluding that he'd rather be a brain in a vat?
5) What important details have been omitted from this example?