Philosophy in Lost

Lost is a great TV series, and no wonder: this season it's become clear that at least someone on the writing staff is a fan of Enlightenment philosophy! The character John Locke has been around since season one, and there's no mistaking that reference. But this season two more philosophic names have come to light: Desmond, whose full name is Desmond David Hume, and a peripheral character (from Juliet's backstory - her boss and ex-boyfriend) named Edmund Burke.

They sure aren't subtle about drawing these references to Enlightenment thinkers. So what does it all mean? Well, one prominent theme in the show is the mystery of the island. Both John Locke and David Hume contributed much to the study of epistemology (the study of knowledge), so perhaps there's a connection there. But both Hume and Locke were empiricists - relying on only the senses for a foundation of knowledge - whereas in the show, John is characterized by faith in some kind of unfathomable destiny, and Desmond seems to have the power of foresight, so the similarities seem limited.

Burke was a political thinker, primarily known for his opposition to the French Revolution. Unclear what the connection there is. He was also British, though - suppose that's something.

So now we know that two main characters are named after British empiricists. We'll have to see where they go with this. If a new character named George Berkeley shows up, we'll know something's really afoot.