Notable Philosophers

Kate Cooper Austin (1864-1902) 




After being raised in the Universalist church, 
Austin broke off her affiliation with the religion and became an outspoken feminist, anarchist, writing scores of articles for many radicals, journals and giving regular lectures near her home in missouri. 




Her Unpublished essay titled " WOMAN"




" Woman and man as well even today are the victims of laws and customs that originated ages ago in brute force among our savage ancestors that lived in caves and fought each-other over the possession of a bone or a woman, man the strongest physically but not mentally enslaved the woman and by exhibition of muscular Power wielded in the shape of the clubs over weaker men, enslaved them also " 




Kate witnessed repeated abuses of power in her own young life and like Kate Austen subservience on behalf of not only herself but of women in her life as well. iTS POSSIBLE to see Kates murder of her stepfather as a feminist and anarchic act motivated by spirit shared with a woman described thusly " Her devotion to Liberty made her an anarchist ; her hostility to patriotically made her a feminist. 




John Locke ( 1632-1704)




John locke born into a puritan family in England. Locke wrote the bulk of his major work Essay Concerning Human Understanding. In Essay concerning Human Understanding, Locke tried to determine the limits of what can be known and to distinguish between knowledge and belief. Arguing against the rationalists of the day, who thought that human beings gain knowledge by reflecting on innate ideas, Locke held that at birth the mind is a Tabula Rasa ( blank slate ) on which experiences are recorded. It's because of this idea, that knowledge ( with exceptions for math and logic ) is dependent on experience as much as possible and be tolerant of people who have different beliefs. 




John Locke

Character: A frustrated office worker in a wheelchair transformed to a vital, ambulatory explorer on the island.

•In the episode "Man of Science, Man of Faith," Locke represents faith. Feels a spiritual bond with the mysterious island.

•Episode title with Locke flashback: "Tabula Rasa."

Philosopher:  John Locke (1632-1704), English philosopher of the Enlightenment Era.

•Differs from Lost's Locke by favoring reason in the search for truth and championing science.

•Believed the mind starts as tabula rasa, or blank slate, and learns through experience.

Expert comment: The philosopher saw humans starting in a state of nature — the crash survivors — and moving toward some kind of social contract, as the people on the beach have, says David Thomer, who teaches philosophy at La Salle University. His belief that action is based on experiences fits in with Lost's signature flashbacks: "What the creators are doing here is trying to show you the particular experiences that are motivating the characters."

David Hume ( 1711-1776) 


 was a scottish Philosopher who was greatly influenced by john locke. Hume thought that knowledge comes from experience. 




Lost basically pays homage to history's greatest thinkers by naming characters after philosophers who mused on man, nature and society. 




•In the flashback, a first-of-its-kind for Lost, Desmond in the past appears to have knowledge of the future and attempts to change earlier actions, such as ending his relationship with true love Penny. He also has precognition, using that knowledge to try to save Charlie.

Philosopher: David Hume (1711-76), Scottish philosopher.

•Hume examined the conflict of free will vs. determinism; this relates to Desmond's attempts to alter the past to influence the future.

Danielle Rousseau

Character: Island survivor (Mira Furlan) from an earlier, ill-fated expedition.

•After living alone on the island for years, Rousseau is intensely suspicious of all, including the Lostaways.

•She often seems unhinged, possibly a result of living in the wild so long.

Philosopher: Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-78), French philosopher, born in Switzerland.

•Rousseau grew paranoid later in life and had a famed falling-out with philosopher colleague David Hume.

•In his later writings, Rousseau sees society as beneficial, allowing people to work together andproviding security.

Expert comment:"The Rousseau character has been stuck in a state of nature for so long … she might have gone mad at some point," Thomer says. "You could read that as a warning about what the state of nature can do and how destructive it can be."

Religion and Science

The Enlightenment – also called the age of reason – occurred in the American history around the mid-18^th century till the end-18^th century. Why this period of time also had the name “Age of Reason” had to do with the fact that people (wealthier white men) started to questioning God, social status, and politics. Science started to develop which changed the American people’s way of living and thinking. Rational thinking was one of the most important aspects of the Enlightenment and people believed that one thing would automatically lead to another.

As I mentioned God - and religion in general – was highly questioned which Alexander Pope made clear in one statement: “the proper study of mankind is man”. He also created the term “Tabula Rasa” which means that man is born with a blank mind.

Thomas Paine was also a very important person and had a great influence in changing people’s opinion towards religion. He explains in his writing how every man has the right of speaking his own mind. Paine himself did not entirely believe the Bible’s words. He believed that revelation only occurred to the person experiencing it firsthand which this quote proves: “I did not see the angle myself, and therefore I have a right not to believe it”.

Benjamin Franklin was one of the most influent people when it came to science. Despite his many inventions and discoveries he did not take patent on them. He believed the American people were in need of these inventions and that it would therefore wrong to do so. One of his first science inventions was the wood-burning stove (better known as Franklin Stove), but unfortunately it did not have the great success he had hoped. It was developed over time though to the common good of the American people. However it turned out, it did not make his passion for studying science decrease. Later his discovery of the lightning rod became an important change in science. He observed the lightning from clouds which led to his experiments on how to lead electricity through a string.

These theories and inventions was among many others - during this time – a part of the changing of American society. Other theorists and inventors later on followed Pain’s and Franklin’s lead and created new experiments.

Enlightenment: ART

In the Puritan era art was generalized mostly around religion. In the enlightenment although religion was a huge aspect in society, artists thought of new ways to express their ideas and feelings. this painting of William Brewster signifies religion. Not only is this man looking up towards the heavens but the angels being around him also shows it. The color scheme is also very dark which in most puritan paintings are. This painting is from the enlightenment. John Singleton Copley paints it; one of the founding fathers John Hancock is represented in it. His posture, the page of the book that he is holding and the quill pen in his hand shows him looking intellectual. He looks like he always thinking. In my opinion compared to the painting of John Singleton Copley, John Hancock’s painting was much brighter in contrast and, more interesting.