Post by Charlie on Oct 16, 2005 18:24:26 GMT
John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, for whom the characters John Locke and Danielle Rousseau are named, were both famous social contract philosophers who dealt with the relationship between nature and civilization. Locke believed that all men were born with a "clean slate" (Tabula Rasa). This idea suggests that the island serves as a second chance for those on it (Locke gains use of his legs, Kate gains her freedom, Michael mends his relationship with Walt, etc.). This idea of being "born again" could be alluding to a Christian theme as hinted on in various episodes. John Locke also proposed the following criterion concerning personal identity: "If you remember thinking something in the past, then you are the same person as he or she who did the thinking." Another point of his was that in the state of nature, all men had equal right to punish transgressors;to ensure fair judgment for all, governments were formed to better administrate the laws. Rousseau, on the other hand, argued that man was born weak and ignorant, but virtuous. Only after man develops society does he become wicked. These beliefs of Rousseau led him to create the theory of a Noble Savage. The theory said that a savage raised in the wilds was purer than a man raised amongst civilization. This evidently relates to Danielle's character as a sort of savage living alone in the wild. This is paralleled by the characters on Lost: Locke embraces both nature and the need for organization among the survivors, while Rousseau prefers nature and appears to abhor joining the survivors in their village.