Abstract

The current debate on the sources, meaning and implications of Arne Næss's Deep Ecology often refers to Spinoza, Gandhi and Socrates as the main inspirations of his vision. This essay explores the less familiar, Norwegian sources of Næss's thought and its rootedness in the Scandinavian Enlightenment. The context of the native tradition illuminates both the underlying central values of Deep Ecology - and its famous inconsistencies.