We are the Producers!!!!!

Before I start I would just like to say sorry to anyone who may have found this and already posted.

In the latest episodes where the Losties take Sayid to the temple they go through the hole in the ground. If you remember correctly when they jump down Kate emptys a bag on the floor to see whats inside. At this point Hugo bends down and picks up a book before throwing it back to the ground. After several attempts of trying to get a clear image of the title I succeeded and found it read:-

“Soren Kierkegaard”

which is the author and the title read

“Crainte et Tremblent” which translated means Fear and Trembling.

It took me a while to find this book because as im sure you can tell it is in French however the original was in Dutch and published under the pseudonym Johannes de Silentio ( John the Silent). I managed to find it in the end and this is what the summary says about it:-

The work begins with a meditation on the faith of Abraham when he was commanded by God to sacrifice his son Isaac. Silentio gives four alternative re-tellings in which Abraham fails the test of his faith and contrasts them with his own interpretation of the story of Abraham and the faith therein demonstrated. Silentio professes to admire Abraham’s faith, but he is utterly incapable of comprehending it.

Following the Preface and Prelude, there is a Panegyric Upon Abraham and a series of three Problemata, which address three specific philosophical questions raised by the story of Abraham’s sacrifice.

1. Is there a teleological suspension of the ethical? (That is, can Abraham’s intent to sacrifice Isaac be considered “good” even though, ethically, human sacrifice is unacceptable?)
2. Is there an absolute duty to God? (In other words, beyond that which is ethical)
3. Was it ethically defensible for Abraham to have concealed his purpose from Sarah, Eleazar, and Isaac?

This story started to intrigue me so I read more:-

In Fear and Trembling Kierkegaard introduces the “Knight of Faith” and contrasts him with the “Knight of Infinite Resignation”. The latter gives up everything in return for the infinite, that which he may receive after this life, and continuously dwells with the pain of his loss. The former, however, not only relinquishes everything, but also trusts that he will receive it all back, his trust based on the “strength of the absurd”.

For Kierkegaard, infinite resignation is easy, but faith is founded in the belief in the absurd. The absurd is that which is contradictory to reason itself. For Abraham, this faith in the absurd manifests itself in Abraham’s belief that he would kill his only son but he would nevertheless receive him again in his lifetime. Silentio’s opinion is that what separates Abraham from being a killer is his faith. (In the end of the Genesis 22 story, an angel stops Abraham at the last moment. A ram appears which Abraham takes as a sign from God, and he sacrifices the ram instead of Isaac.)

An important theme is the conflict between theology and philosophy. According to Kierkegaard, mid-19th-century secular philosophers laughed at faith and saw no mystery in the story of Abraham while professing to find Hegel’s philosophy exceedingly difficult. Kierkegaard, however, thought that understanding Hegel was possible (if difficult), but trying to comprehend why Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son caused him to be “virtually annihilated”.

More talk about sacrifice and doesn’t the Knight of Faith sound alot like Jacob? Even better doesn’t the Knight of Infinite Resignation sound alot like MIB? I’m not saying this is them but its interesting all the same.

I decided to look into the Author more and this is what I found out:-

Søren Aabye Kierkegaard  (5 May 1813 — 11 November 1855) was a Danish philosopher,theologian, and psychologist. Kierkegaard strongly criticised both the Hegelianism of his time and what he saw as the empty formalities of the Danish National Church. Much of his philosophical work deals with the issues of how one lives, focusing on the priority of concrete human reality over abstract thinking and highlighting the importance of personal choice and commitment. His theological work focuses on Christian ethics and the institution of the church. His psychological works explore the emotions and feelings of individuals when faced with life choices.

As part of his philosophical method, inspired by Socrates and the Socratic dialogue, Kierkegaard’s early work was written under various pseudonymous characters who present their own distinctive viewpoints and interact with each other in complex dialogue. He assigns pseudonyms to explore particular viewpoints in-depth, which may take up several books in some instances, and Kierkegaard, or another pseudonym, critiques that position. Thus, the task of discovering the meaning of his works is left to the reader, because “the task must be made difficult, for only the difficult inspires the noble-hearted”. Subsequently, scholars have interpreted Kierkegaard variously as, among others, an existentialist, neo-orthodoxist, postmodernist, humanist and individualist. Crossing the boundaries of philosophy, theology, psychology, and literature, he is an influential figure in contemporary thought.

The main point I would like to point out in this are the lines:-

He assigns pseudonyms to explore particular viewpoints in-depth, which may take up several books in some instances, and Kierkegaard, or another pseudonym, critiques that position. Thus, the task of discovering the meaning of his works is left to the reader, because “the task must be made difficult, for only the difficult inspires the noble-hearted”.

I think we may have all been played by the producers in coming up with the story ourselves. Whatever gets theorised if they like it they made it happen ie time travel. They clearly stated it wouldn’t happen yet there seems to be an abundance of it now because it was what we wanted. Obviously it wont change now because scripts have been written and episodes shot but I believe they just let us theorise away….we did all the homework and research they just picked out the parts they wanted and liked and made it happen. What does everyone else think?

If its true it is an ingenius way to produce a show. However it displeases me that for 5 seasons so far I could have been looking for an answer that wasn’t even there.

Again apologies if someone has already wrote about this but I’m sure I’d have heard if they did :S.

Thanks