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Arne Næss, the founder of Deep Ecology and one of Norway's best known philosophers, is Professor Emeritus at the University of Oslo. Born in 1912 in Oslo, graduated at the University of Oslo in 1933, studied in Paris and Vienna. Doctorate in 1936 (thesis title: Erkenntnis und wissenschaftliches Verhalten), professor of Philosophy at University of Oslo from 1939 to 1969, then free-lance philosopher and naturalist, and from 1970 onwards environmental activist.
Næss participated in the peace movement (especially 1940-55) and "the deep ecology movement" (1970- ). He was leader of UNESCO's project on the East/West Controversy (Cold War), Paris 1948-49. In Europe Næss is a supporter of "green" politics. Founded Inquiry, an inter-disciplinary journal of philosophy.
Deeply touched by the thought of Spinoza and Gandhi, he coined the term "deep ecology" to express a vision of the world in which we protect the environment as a part of ourselves, never in opposition to humanity. Deep sensitivity to nature is the articulation of something that every child understands. And for Naess, knowledge of the deepest kind should bind humanity to nature, and not push us further away from the tactile object of its study.
Awards
- Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav
- Peer Gynt Prize, 2004
- The Nordic Council Award for Nature and Environment, 2002
- Uggla Prize, Humanistiska Föreningen, Stockholm University, 2002
- Diploma and Medal from King Harald V of Norway for his contribution in the Intelligence Agency XU during the German occupation (1998)
- The Medal of the Presidency of the Italian Republic (Italy, 1998)
- The Nordic Prize (Swedish Academy, Sweden, 1996)
- The Mountain Tradition Award (Fjellskikkspris) by the Red Cross, (Oslo 1996)
- The Mahatma Gandhi Prize for Non-violent Peace (Oslo, 1994)
- Fridtjof Nansens Award (Fridtjof Nansen Foundation for the promotion of Science) 1983
- The Sonning Prize (Denmark, 1977) for contribution to European culture
Honorary doctorates
Stockholm University (1972)
The Norwegian National University of Sports and Physical Education (1995)
Honorary memberships
The Norwegian Alpine Club (2002)
The Norwegian Tourist Association (2002)
Publications
Published about 30 books and numerous articles including:
The Selected Works of Arne Naess (SWAN) 10 volume work (2005)
Life's philosophy: reason and feeling in a deeper world (2002)
(Original title: Livsfilosofi: Et personlig bidrag om følelser og fornuft,1998, also Danish, Swedish, Latvian and English)
Inn i filosofi (2002)
Mental Håndbak: a series of conversations with Norwegian children between the ages of 7-17 (2002)
Filosofihistorie (2001)
Gandhi, Natur och Kultur (2000)
Livsfilosofi, Natur och Kultur (2000)
Det Frie Mennesket - en innføring i Spinozas filosofi (1999)
Hallingskarvet: The father of the good, long life (1995) (Norwegian)
(Original title: Hallingskarvet: det gode, lange livs far)
Ecology, Community and Lifestyle (1989) (Norwegian, English, Italian, Japanese and Czech)
Freedom, Emotion and Self-subsistence (1975) (English)
Gandhi and Group Conflict (1974) (English)
The Pluralist and Possibilist Aspect of the Scientific Enterprise (1972)
Scepticism (1969) (English)
Four modern philosophers (1968) (Norwegian and English)
Communication and Argument (1966) (English)
Symbolic Logic (1961) (Norwegian)
History of Philosophy (1953) (Norwegian and Danish)
Democracy, Ideology and Objectivity (1956)
Truth as conceived by those who are not professional philosophers (1938)
Related links:
Books by Arne Naess on Amazon.com
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