Lost + Philosophy = Mind Blown.

So the semester ends in less than two weeks, so I have been incredibly busy. It's amazing how much stuff I can get done when I'm under pressure though.

However, I always have time to talk about the best show on the entire planet -- Lost! The complexity of the plot has kept me interested for the last 6 years. You might be thinking 'Where is the closest mental hospital we can take this chick to, because what in the world does philosophy have in common with a silly television show?'

I hear you, but obviously you have never seen Lost.

Let me begin by saying that the show's creative team is great influenced by certain philosophical concepts and people. The central character often find themselves re-evaluating their own morals, values, and ethical belief systems. Many important universal questions of philosophy are posed throughout the episodes.

But even more interestingly, the writers have named many of the characters after influential philosophers, especially of the Enlightenment period. Personally, this keeps me interested in the big themes that Lost explores, as well as my actual philosophy class. Because when I see a name like Hume or Locke pop up in my textbook, it immediately grabs my attention and I compare and contrast them with the Lost character. Keeps things spicy!

There are MANY of these philosopher named characters, so I'll just highlight the big players.

Mikhail Bakunin- The character is a former Soviet soldier who was very loyal and believed people shouldn't question authority, while the real Mikhail Bakunin was an anarchist and rejected almost all authority figures, even God. Oh Lost writers, you love your irony.

Jeremy Bentham - This is used as John Locke's alias in Season 5. For more detail on the 18th century English philosopher, see my previous blog.

John Locke - The character and Enlightenment philosopher actually share a lot of the same ideas. In particular, the character Locke believes that everyone gets a new life on the island, which parallels the philosophical theory of 'tabula rasa'.

David Hume/Desmond Hume - Desmond and the philosopher are both Scottish, he actually was a proposer of skepiticism and felt strongly against miracles, something the character Desmond came to believe in.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau/Danielle Rousseau - Jean Jacques, a Genevan philosopher, promoted the idea of a 'noble savage' meaning that Man is born into a natural and innocent state but it corrupted by society throughout his lifetime. Danielle, the character, could actually be seen as a noble savage of sorts.

In addition, Lost references many other philosophy topics. In one episode, the phrase 'cogito ergo doleo' or 'I think, therefore I suffer' is a play on the very famous phrase by Rene Descartes 'I think, therefore I am'.

People even theorize that the entire show is based on Gaunilo's lost island argument.

Anyway! To sum it all up, Lost makes philosophy class more interesting, and knowing philosophical arguments and concepts makes Lost more interesting. Win, win. :)