Product Description

Sometimes it feels like you need a Ph.D. to follow the show. But you don't. You just need this book in which twenty-one philosophers explore the deep questions we all face as survivors on this planet: Does "everything happen for a reason"? Is torture ever justified? Who are the Others? How do we know we're not patients in Hurley's psych ward? What if the Dharma Intitiative is experimenting on us? Desmond may not be able to save Charlie, but this book could save you.

• A provocative study of the hit television show, Lost, currently in its third season and set to reach its climax in 2010
  
• Highlights the sense in which Lost is a genuinely philosophical show
  
• Helps fans understand and navigate some of Lost’s deeper meanings
  
• Connects episodes and events in the show to core philosophical issues such as truth, identity, and morality
  
• Shows that it’s no accident that there are Lost characters names Locke, Rousseau, and Hume

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #85956 in Books
• Published on: 2007-11-27
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Review
"Editor Sharon Kaye and a team of authors have penned a thinking person’s guide to exploring the philosophical territories mined in the hit television series “Lost.” A book for those who know television doesn’t have to be a wasteland of throw-away ideas; “Lost and Philosophy” takes you deep into the island’s philosophical jungle."
-Tory Brecht, The Dispatch/Argus

"Imagine a setting on your television for 'Philosophical Analysis', right next to 'Subtitles'. Lost and Philosophy is such a setting, one that works from inside your own head. Life, let alone television, will never be the same again. Switch it on."
-Dr. Deborah Brown, The University of Queensland

“Let's face it: We're all lost in the cosmos, dropped at birth into the ongoing mysteries of our remote planetary island where each of us is challenged to make the best of this odd situation we share with our companions. Lost and Philosophy shows how one remarkable television series illuminates the human condition and poses some of the deepest questions we all need to answer. Reading this excellent book will help you peel back the layers of the show, and your life.”

-Tom Morris, Bestselling author of If Aristotle Ran General Motors,
If Harry Potter Ran General Electric, and Philosophy for Dummies

"The concepts are well-defined and presented…You don't have to be a philosophy major to understand…takes the experience of the show and makes it 'one louder.'"
TLChicken.com

"Questions about life, love and destiny...That’s the focus of 21 thought-provoking yet reader-friendly essays that explore the many references to philosophy in the popular series."
Wave Magazine

From the Back Cover
When Flight 815 crashes on a remote tropical island, it gets stuck in a philosophical quagmire. Survivors band together to guard against surreal dangers, but who will guard the guardians? Thrust into the state of nature, our scantily clad and well-tanned heros learn that they were lost long before the crash. Watching them wrestle their demons, you may realize you're lost too. Locke, Rousseau, Hume. Who are these people?

Sometimes it feels like you need a Ph.D. to follow the show. But you don't. You just need this book in which twenty-one philosophers explore the deep questions we all face as survivors on this planet: Does "everything happen for a reason"? Is torture ever justified? Who are the Others? How do we know we're not patients in Hurley's psych ward? What if the Dharma Intitiative is experimenting on us? Desmond may not be able to save Charlie, but this book could save you.

About the Author
Sharon Kaye is Associate Professor of Philosophy at John Carroll University. She is the author of On Ockham with co-author Robert Martin (2001) and On Augustine with co-author Paul Thomson (2001).

Customer Reviews

For Philosophy Students Only 2

This really goes too deep even for the most fervent LOST fan.

More for a Philosophy than a fan of the show.

I loved this book
This book was given to me as a gift and although I have never watched one episode of 'Lost', I loved this book! Each of the 22 essays revealed questions and concerns that people face everyday. Even though the book does focus on the television show and its characters, it is also relevant to you, the reader. I found this book to be not only full of deep and interesting questions, but also fun and easy to understand. I would definately recommend this book to any 'Lost' fans out there as well as to anyone who has ever felt a little lost themselves.

An Excellent Opportunity to Enhance the Viewing Experience
This is a good read.

The book is a collection of twenty-one essays. Some of them are very good, some of them are good. But all of them are challenging and exciting. I have my personal favorites: "Should We Condemn Michael for Saving Walt?", "The Island as a Test of Free-Will", "Lost's State of Nature", "Lost Theories and Coincidence"... But I suppose every Lost viewer will find several papers to like in this collection.

You do not need an academic training of any sort to enjoy this reading. But it true that if you enjoy reading argumentative texts, this habit will come handy and will be rewarded.

If you're a Lost fan, this book will give you a good excuse to watch again some old episodes (while you're awaiting the new season...) and the topics discussed here will enhance this viewing.

If you're more of a philosophical mind, you will find very good ways to expose, in very clear terms, basic philosophical questions.

It is one of the best books in the series "Philosophy and Popculture".