Danielle Rousseau's Lost: Philosophy In Pop Culture

When I think of Philosophy in Pop Culture the show that comes to mind is Lost. Lost was a show the was so unbelievable complex that none of the story lines truly made sense. Every episode had you more confused than the last. The story line basically leaves the viewer lost. The premises of the show circles around a plane crashing on a “abandon” island and how the survivors adapt to not only the island and each other. As for the philosophical aspect of the show I think it was no accident for all the connection to philosophy.

Let’s begin with the every so obvious philosophical connection, the name choices of the main charters. My personal favorite is John Locke who later we find out his alias is Jeremy Bentham. John Locke (1632-1704) who was

Shipwrecked on the island 16 years prior to the plane crash, were the show begins, she lives alone in the woods. She is of French origin and arrived on the island 7 months pregnant. After the birth of her daughter the child is snatched away and Danielle is unable to find her. She claims the child was taken by “others” but unable to describe who the other are. Danielle is somewhat of a savage, living off the land and alone for so long. She is very hostile when first coming into contact with the plane crash survivors. Going as far as to trap and torturer one of them. Again the name choice is so fitting to the character. Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) philosopher was of French origin. Rousseau believed that there was a savage stage in development. His critics attributed the idea of Noble Savage To Rousseau. The idea of the Noble Savage was; “an idealized concept of uncivilized man, who symbolizes the innate goodness of one not exposed to the corrupting influences of civilization” We could say the Danielle is this idea of a noble savage. She is, in the beginning, just a savage but as the show progresses she begins to help the plane crash survivors. This idea of the Nobel Savage was not truly Rousseau’s idea just attributed. Perhaps why the show attributed only the last name of the philosopher. They could have easily named her Jean Rousseau instead of

The major one is “Man of Science vs Man of Faith” The two major characters of the show, Locke and Jack, are both at the extremes: Jack was so beholden to his skepticism. He will ignore or explain away thing out of the ordinary. It could happen right before his eyes and he will find a way to explain it. He can leave nothing to blind faith, there is a reason and explanation behind everything that happens on that island. Locke on the other hand is so captivated by his faith that he stupidly ignored all reason and logic to get closer to the Island. He is willing to be sucked into the ground because he believes it is his destiny. As the show progresses you see them converge. Locke begins and eventually loses faith and Jack finds just blind, open hearted faith in everything. Can the situations that occur on the island all be explained by science or Is this the act of an invisible unexplainable