The Philosophers of LOST

\”Tabula Rasa\” LOST

This summer I had the opportunity to watch all six seasons of LOST and while it was entertaining, it was thoroughly confusing. It is interesting to look at the characters from LOST and how they compare and contrast to the philosophers they are named after. I thought it was just Locke who was named after someone, but after looking into it I realized that the writers had a purpose behind the names of their characters.

John Locke the empiricist rejected innate ideas and believed that everything was learned from experience. He believed in tabula rasa, the idea that the mind is a blank slate to be written on. Tabula Rasa is the title of the third episode of the first season. The theme of the episode is that everyone is starting new on the island and therefore is a blank slate; they can be who they want to be. The youtube clip shows the end of this episode where Jack tells Kate that they can start over and forget about the past. Locke the character is not a believer in the ideas of tabula rasa because he believes in destiny and that he was put on the island for a reason.  One similarity the writers added was the character of Anthony Cooper. On the show, Cooper was John’s father and John saved his life by giving him a kidney transplant. In history, Cooper was John’s patron and John saved his life when he persuaded him to have surgery.

Desmond Hume reflects the ideas and characteristics of David Hume in a few ways. David Hume believed that emotions and passions caused their behavior. In the show, Desmond’s behavior is greatly influenced by his emotions. For example, his love for Penny causes him to sail around the world and end up on the island, and his fear of blowing up causes him to push the button in the hatch repeatedly for 2 years. Furthermore, both David and Desmond are Scottish.

After realizing that Locke was named after someone, I wanted to learn what other references were made. It intrigued me to research the characters and ideas behind them. Other characters that are named after philosophers include Jeremy Bentham, Mikhail Bakunin, Danielle Rousseau (Jean-Jacque Rousseau), and Charlotte Staples Lewis (Clive Staples Lewis). I appreciate when writers and artists tie in history and important figures into pop culture. I think it helps keep the past alive and in our minds.

Different philosophical questions also arise from LOST. For example, do people really have a destiny or is there free will? Is there life after death? Does good triumph over evil? Is there redemption? These are just a few tough questions that LOST has made me think about.