Julián Esteban Torres López, HW Director and Columnist
LOST’s last episode aired 23 May 2010. This fact, however, does not stop us fanatics from continuing the discourse of one of the most entertaining shows on television.
I became drawn to the show not only because of my infatuation with being stranded on an island, with survival, and with William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, but also because of its obviously philosophical undertone. With names like Locke, Rousseau, Hume, Bentham, and so on, how could a student of philosophy not be intrigued?!
I think my background in the subject helped me understand and enjoy the show probably more than those without my experience. Recognizing that certain characters were named after philosophers for a reason, I was able to get into the minds of those on the island. This helped me anticipate future actions because X philosopher would act in such and such a way, and, as a result, able to connect seemingly unconnected plot lines together that confused some of my friends.
In this article I would like to dissect and explain one of the most confusing elements of the show: the Locke / Bentham metamorphosis.
One clue to start with is the title of episode 7 of the 5th season, which is called “The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham.”
In terms of conducting one’s life, one needs to look at real-world Bentham’s view on morality. He was one of the greatest advocates for utilitarianism. He argued that an action or policy would be right if it produced the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people (the greatest happiness principle). In LOST, we see Bentham sacrificing himself for the good of everyone else. Bentham’s (LOST) utilitarian sacrifice of himself was to get everyone together and back to the island in order to save everyone who was left behind.
In terms of the importance of Bentham’s death in LOST we need to look at how the real-world Bentham has survived even after death. Remember, the episode title spoke of the life and death of Bentham, and this is precisely where we need to look for further clarification of the Locke / Bentham metamorphosis.
The real-world Bentham was definitely an iconoclast. He did not want to be buried or cremated. Instead, he wanted to be embalmed and put on public display. Though he died some 180 years ago, you can still go see his body in England in a case (i.e., open casket in LOST) for your viewing pleasure. The real-world Bentham lives on even after his death much like the LOST Bentham lived on after the sacrifice.
Now, this raises the question as to how John Locke (philosopher and LOST character) is connected and related to Jeremy Bentham (philosopher and LOST character). Below is my interpretation.
Locke, LOST character, is driven by his belief of a higher being and a higher purpose (i.e., destiny). His explanations for why things happen are often metaphysical in nature. We, thus, see Locke’s great connection to the island and belief that it is trying to tell him something. The island, for Locke, acts like God. In the first seasons we also see Locke respect the dignity of other human beings. He opts for dialogue, consent, reason, and respecting other people’s choices in life instead of trying to force or coerce them against their own will by pointing a gun to their heads, like Sawyer may have done to get what he wanted.
Locke, the real philosopher, provided us with a political philosophy on the dignified treatment of humans derived from what he had interpreted as God’s purpose: individual and collective survival. It follows from this that murder and suicide went against God’s purpose, or at least that is how the real-world Locke saw things. The means to the end (survival) – the law of nature – are then given to us by God in the state of nature as a duty that being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions.
The connection between the Locke in LOST and Locke the philosopher is obvious: higher purpose, nature, respect for reason and humans, the means to survival, etc. Connecting the dots between Locke and Bentham in LOST is a little more difficult.
What I propose is that towards the end of the season 4, Locke begins to lose his faith. Throughout the seasons before his “sacrifice” the viewer sees Locke’s faith constantly tested — pushing the button every 108 of minutes in order to save the world even though he has no reason to believe that the world will end if he does not push the button. Though his faith is restored after Eko’s death, Locke’s faith is finally tested in the end of season 4 when he has to become the means to the end. He himself has to go against Lockean philosopher’s values (i.e., belief that murder and suicide go against God’s purpose; the island’s purpose/plan) and willingly chooses to sacrifice himself for the greater good. Hence, we get the cross-over of Locke into Bentham — the very literal embodiment of Locke inside Bentham. Or, put another way, Bentham overtaking Locke for some arbitrarily define “greater good.”
Back in January I was able to predict that the Locke / Bentham character who woke up from the casket looking for Jacob was not the same Locke from before but someone else posing as Locke who wanted to get to Jacob. I even posted on a friend’s Facebook wall a version of this very article and this very claim five months before the final episode, complete with “(**evil laugh**)” and all. But, at this point, I don’t care if you believe me. It was exactly being able to make such connections that made the show that much more enjoyable for philosophy dorks like me.
This article is a testament to the show’s ability to grab the attention of someone who, on a normal day, could care less for what’s on television. Well done, LOST, well done!
I hear there’s a LOST and Philosophy book on Amazon and such, but I hesitate to purchase it and read it because it may take away all of the magic the island offered. Though I like trying to decipher the potential meanings of confusing plot lines, I still enjoy a good mystery once in a while. And now that the show is over, it is exactly this mystery and my own ability to try to figure things out myself that keeps me still interested in the show even long after the last episode aired.
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