The Ecology of Wisdom: Writings by Arne Naess

by Arne Næss, Alan Drengson (Editor), Bill Devall (Editor)

A founder of the Deep Ecology Movement, Arne Naess' has produced articles on environmentalism that have provided unmatched inspiration for ecologists, philosophers, and activists worldwide. This collection amasses a definitive group of Naess' most important works in which he calls for nonviolent, cooperative action to protect the Earth. Rich with observations, insights, and anecdotes, Naess' writings draw from Eastern religious practices, Gandhian nonviolent direct action, and Spinozan unity systems. Playful and compassionate in tone, Ecology of Wisdom showcases Naess' exceptional enthusiasm, wit, and spiritual fascination with nature, while educating each of us about the steps we must take to rescue the planet and illuminating the relevance of this important environmental advocate.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Ecology, Nature, Essays, Environment, Spirituality

320 pages, Hardcover

First published June 28, 2008

About the author

Næss was a Norwegian philosopher, known foremost as the founder of the concept Deep Ecology
Næss combined his ecological vision with Gandhian nonviolence and on several occasions participated in direct action events. He was the youngest person to ever be promoted to professor at Oslo University (27), a position he inhabited from 1939 to 1970.
Næss' main philosophical work from the 1950s was entitled Interpretation and Preciseness. . He later developed the conclusions in that book into a simplified, practical textbook, entitled Communication and Argument, which became a valued introduction to pragmatics or rather "language logic", and was thus used over many decades as a sine qua non for the preparatory examination at the University of Oslo, later known as "Examen Philosophicum".

From the 1960s and forward his work came to be more and more focused on what would later be known as deep ecology.
The name was first introduced to the public by Næss in 1972 during a lecture and was later explained further in The Shallow and the Deep Long-Range Ecology Movement: A Summary (published 1973 in the Inquiry journal).

Reviews

[E. G. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Preface, by Alan Drengson and Bill Devall
Acknowledgments
Introduction: The Life and Work of Arne Naess: An Appreciative Overview, by Alan Drengson

Section 1: Places in the Real World

--An Example of a Place: Tvergastein
--Modesty and the Conquest of Mountains
--Avalanches as Social Constructions
--The World of Concrete Contents
--Self-Realization: An Ecological Approach to Being in the World

Section 2: The Long-Range Deep Ecology Movement

--The Three Great Movements
--The Basics of the Deep Ecology Movement
--Cultural Diversity and the Deep Ecology Movement
--The Place of Joy in a World of Fact
--Beautiful Action: Its Function in the Ecological Crisis
--Lifestyle Trends Within the Deep Ecology Movement

Section 3: Methodology and Systems

--Reflections on Total Views
--The Limited Neutrality of Typologies of Systems
--The Methodology of Normative Systems
--Pluralism in Cultural Anthropology
--The Principle of Intensity
--Creativity and Gestalt Thinking
--Gestalt Thinking and Buddhism

Section 4: Nonviolence and Gandhi, Spinoza and Wholeness

--Nonmilitary Defense
--Gandhian Nonviolent Verbal Communication: The Necessity of Training
--Spinoza and the Deep Ecology Movement
--Through Spinoza to Mahayana Buddhism, or Through Mahayana Buddhism to Spinoza?
--Freedom, Self, and Activeness, According to Spinoza

Section 5: Problems and Ways Forward

--Industrial Society, Postmodernity, and Ecological Sustainability
--Sustainability! The Integral Approach
--Population Reduction: An Ecosophical View
--Deep Ecology for the Twenty-Second Century

Notes
Bibliography

[T.R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first encounter with the writings of Naess, one of the founders of what he called the long-range deep ecology movement. As a snapshot of his extensive writings, this book perhaps does a some justice, by culling out relevant pieces and placing them in 'thematic gestalts' to present some essential aspects of his 'ecosophy'.

Some chapters have interesting titles related to the philosophical concepts he expounds, about 'beautiful action', about 'the place of joy in a world of fact', the need for 'modesty in the conquest of mountains', 'gestalt thinking and Buddhism' and so on. I liked some parts of the book. For instance, on thinking deeply about and bringing to the fore the underlying philosophies, normative structures, and hypotheses on which we base our actions. About argumentation and principles that should guide the way we debate, argue with opponents, and the importance of language and communication. His effort to integrate the three great world movements: peace, social justice, and the ecology/environmental movement. His linking of Spinoza and Gandhi, and the emphasis on activeness, if not action and activism in the movement.

For someone who laid so much emphasis on language and communication, his texts are nevertheless not easy reading. The chapters on direct philosophical subjects are dense and not for the faint-hearted lay person who has not engaged with such reasoning. The Introduction by the editors is too long-winded and mostly eulogy to Naess, and disappointing in that respect. Recommendation: if you buy or see the book, read the chapters that attract your attention and safely leave the rest.

[Karl Hallbjörnsson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of essays is quite good. Not all of them are great but some have managed to leave a lasting impression on me. Especially Naess' emphasis on the idea of having a "place". Definitely recommended.

[Tyler A-B · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the toughest books I’ve read! Lots of terminology I had to familiarize myself with and lots of sections I needed to reread. Lovely teachings though I’m happy to have added an environmental philosophy perspective.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a collection of essays written over a long period, and as such there is a fair amount of repetition. Reading through it, you do get a sense of Naess’s overall philosophical framework and his inspirations and recurring themes: chiefly, Spinoza, Gandhi, Buddhism, Indian philosophy, non-violence and of course “deep ecology”.

To be honest, I wasn’t super impressed with the majority of it, but I will outline a few of my takeaways here:

- His narrative of Tvergastein, his life there and the effect on a person of living by simple means in a wild landscape was by far the most interesting part of the book and very different from the other essays
- A large majority of the book seems to be reconstituted from philosophy lectures with a lot of emphasis on outlining a rigorous system of personal philosophy (“ecosophy”) starting with ultimate values (from religious or similar foundations) down to principles (“more diversity is better”) and then to policies and actions (“logging reduces diversity” so “spike the trees”). Plus some digressions into Spinozan ethics, subjectivity (“the rose is not in itself beautiful or ugly, but only so in the eye of the beholder” - which in theory raises an objection to a deep ecology platform, as in “the forest is only beautiful in your eyes but not mine”), and other random philosophical tidbits he was interested in
- He takes a fairly hand wavy approach to all the most difficult aspects of constructing a viable deep ecology movement, especially around cultural diversity (he seems to have read a lot in Sanskrit and Pali, which is impressive, but he way too highly valorizes the idea that other cultures just automatically respect nature more and that when the Buddhists come riding in western modernity will be defeated)
- He doesn’t really do any analysis on the current state of the global ecosystem or ecological problems; it’s assumed to be in a disastrous state but this isn’t discussed at all
- He is a degrowther and, waving hands again, suggests that if we just stop reproducing, in a few hundred years everything will be good
- I liked his focus on living a rich life, instead of a complex or wealthy life, but what that might actually be isn’t discussed, nor is the assumption that consumerism is the cause of this or that dissatisfaction is a new phenomenon
- In part, his idea about a “non-military defense” policy involving studying the most effective means of nonviolent responses on the part of the population to invaders, training the population in these methods, and encouraging cross cultural exchange and volunteering to prevent misunderstandings and invasions in general, is interesting. But these aren’t new - and, as is a recurring issue, in general he seems incredibly optimistic about the prospects for people getting along if only they all knew better and agreed on the same philosophical axioms

Some of my mild disappointment with this book is probably related to this really being a true philosophy book (it feels like being in an undergrad philosophy course, which makes sense since he was a professor). I picked it up without knowing his work so maybe that’s on me. But overall it left me hoping someone did a little more work after him to flesh out some of the lower levels of his “ecosophy T”.

[Daren Kearl · Rating 3 out of 5]

As someone with a new interest in the philosophy of deep ecology, I was looking for a lay persons introduction. I found some of these essays too theoretical and at a more academic level than I could cope with, sadly. My favourite was describing the microcosm around and living in the hut at Tvergastein.

[Samuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved some of the chapters, found others difficult to get through. May be that I'm just a bit too smooth brained.

[Andreas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Som å lese filosofi fra år 3000, i en fjern fremtid hvor klimakrisen er løst og og menneskeheten lever lykkelig i pakt med naturen. Tidvis ugjennomtrengelig teknisk materiale forhåpentligvis myntet på yrkesfilosofer, men de tilgjengelige partiene er fantastisk lesning. Anbefales for alle som føler at de trenger tyngre skyts i nachdebatter om hvorvidt alt liv har egenverdi utover den økonomisk nytteverdien for mennesker.

[Frederik · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of essays has some very interesting pieces. Some I found to technical for my interest, but nonetheless brought me on new ideas or new ways of framing my own thoughts. Naess' treatises on identity, Spinoza and deep ecology are what brought me to giving it four stars.

[Jonathan Karstadt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first heard of Arne Naess when I was hitchhiking round Norway back in 2009. I was instantly attracted to the idea of this philosopher of the wilderness, and I purchased this volume soon after I came home. I didn't manage to make much progress with it, though; I enjoyed the first of Naess's essays in the volume, a leisurely, light-hearted description of his mountain retreat at Tvergastein, but I could never get through the dense, philosophical text that followed.

Now a few years wiser and with a bit more perseverance I was able to get through most of the book: there were still a few of the essays that I found it tough to decipher (for a student of philosophy, much of the book would probably be far more illuminating, but for a layman like myself whose knowledge of Spinoza is limited to "the guy who started the Enlightenment", much of the terminology and argumentation is beyond easy comprehension) but many of the essays are thoroughly accessible, and careful reading can provide insights into a huge range of different topics. I especially enjoyed the first and last sections of the book, dealing with "Places in the Real World" and "Problems and Ways Forward" respectively, and wish these two would have been somewhat longer.

In a time when the ecology movement - and the left in general - finds itself caught between neoliberal globalisers on the one side and nationalist reactionaries on the other, Naess's emphasis on the importance of a sense of place and belonging, coupled with a with deep respect for cultural diversity (and indeed, diversity of all kinds,) and global solidarity is exactly the kind of thinking the world needs right now. As he writes: "there is no way back to the societies that belong to the past, but there is a way back to ecological sustainability."

[Cameron · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a complete newcomer to Naess, Ecology of Wisdom is a deep introduction to both the man and his work. Alan Drengson's introductory overview covers the life of Arne Naess, as well as touching on his work and the deep ecology movement in general. From there we proceed on to the first of the five sections: 'Places in the Real World'. The essays in this section are definitely the most accessible entryway into the essays as a whole, as they are all about tangible places. From there the book moves on to more philosphical matters: 'The Long-Range Deep Ecology Movement', 'Methodology and Systems', 'Nonviolence and Gandhi, Spinoza and Wholeness' and 'Problems and Ways Forward'. Each of these section covers a number of philosophical issues; predominantly on our relationship to the world around us. If you are a complete beginner to ecosophy or the deep ecology movement the writings of Arne Naess can be overwhelming at times, but this book at least tries to make the man more relatable. Not for the average reader, perhaps, but a must for anyone interested in ecosophy and looking for a more challenging read.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you have any interest at all in ecology and environmentalism, this is a great read. Somewhat dense at times, but a beautiful philosophy of what a sustainable world could look like on this planet. Arne Naess demonstrates why he is the father of Deep Ecology.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arne Naess is my new hero :)

[Emily Archer · Rating 4 out of 5]

One that I took my time reading, I think that by doing so you can get so much out of this book. It covers a broad range of themes, taking the reader on a journey through some of Naess' thinking; these essays are loosely structured into general topics (although obviously a lot of these themes are interwoven throughout).

It is a book that is not only highly theoretical, but also extremely practical. It encourages the reader to examine their own 'ecosophy': their own system of beliefs surrounding how they interact with the environment and why.

Highlights
Overall, I thought this book was a well chosen selection of essays and I thought that it was organised quite logically. I loved the foreword on Naess' life.

Naess' presents a really simple 'apron' diagram for understanding the relationship between fundamental belief and ecological action. This visualisation really stuck with me and I found it particularly helpful.

In terms of Naess' writing itself, I personally really loved the section on the nature of properties, where he talks about how we experience the sea in relation to its physical properties:

"According to Sextus’ interpretation, Protagoras’ opinion might also be that the sea is both encouraging and discouraging, and both delicious and detestable. Consequently, according to Protagoras, as interpreted by Sextus, and as interpreted by me, water has all kinds of qualities, but a sensitive human being is only able to experience a few of them. What a being will experience depends on its state." — Pg 71

He then goes on to talk about reality as a jostling, writhing mass of water molecules and how our relationship to the physical nature of the sea is removed, experienced as gestalt, and at an even more fundamental level, how Einstein and Heisenberg caused the disappearance of perceptual, anschaulicher, properties, while Bohr redeemed this by showing the existence of laboratory constellations with secondary qualities. I think that this section in general is a really fundamental basis for understanding how we can be so varied in our relationships to nature.

Criticisms
Furthermore, this discussion of emergent properties is deeply tied to his thinking on Spinoza and Buddhism later in the book. For example, the following quote taken from the Way of the Bodhisattva:

"Theories may be of practical utility and may concur with empirical experience, but as expressions of the ultimate truth, the “nature of things,” they are inadequate. The ultimate is suprarational and cannot be expressed in conceptual terms. Thus, in the Pāli scriptures, the Buddha is recorded as saying that “the Tathāgata is free from all theories.” And again, “The view that everything exists is, Kachchāyana, one extreme; that it does not exist is another. Not accepting the two extremes, the Tathāgata proclaims the truth from the middle position.” The second passage is referred to explicitly by Nāgārjuna in his great work, The Stanzas on the Middle Way, with the remark that “the Lord has rejected both views: that of ‘is’ and that of ‘is not.’” In other words, he has rejected all views."

is echoed in Naess' thinking on 'Is and Is Not'. He also states that:

"Dwelling in situations of intrinsic value, spontaneous non directed awareness, relaxing from striving, is conducive to self realisation as I understand it."

Naess' echoes Buddhist thinking throughout, but formally and in later sections almost entirely through tertiary texts (i.e. discussions of Spinoza's Buddhist-like views). This is then where this begins to feel a lot less compelling and far more academically-focused, because he is responding to an academic discourse on the interpretation of Spinoza and therefore it loses some of the novel insight which comes across in the other essays. Here Naess' seems like less of a revolutionary, because he suddenly seems bound to a framework which he cannot quite shake. It is my personal view that he doesn't put forward a compelling interpretation of Spinoza's work, but uses it as a vessel for discussing Buddhism.

I also had mixed feelings about the 'ways forward' section. He basically relies heavily on a declining population and infertility, but what he says seems pretty unethical and misguided (I wonder what he would think about anti-abortion laws...). I thought that his earlier sections about beautiful action --in the Kantian sense-- were extremely relevant for climate-responsible action and could have been related to consumerism and societies of production. Again, he could have looked outside Western societies of the present for inspiration, but instead he seems more concerned about what we can or cannot impose on non-industrialised societies, rather than what we ourselves should be doing to mitigate the harm we have already caused.

Overall, this book covers a huge breadth of topics, down into the minutiae. Naess was a really incredible thinker and this book was super inspirational.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though I enjoy reading the essays in "The Ecology of Wisdom", I find I'm appreciating them more in historical context as writings that helped open up mainstream European and European-American thinking to what is currently labelled "traditional ecological knowledge". Unbeknownst to myself, I'd been following a thread of writings for some time that fit solidly into the category of what Naess calls "deep ecology". Reading his work, I see Naess as following in the footsteps of Nietzsche, personalizing his philosophy, taking to the mountaintops, and refusing to canonize the thinking of the philosophical luminaries that came before him. Instead, he questions them and points out the flaws in their logic--in Naess' case, this is means centering their thinking on humanity instead of the earth as a whole. As someone who has casually studied Buddhist thought for the past 20 years, much of his philosophy feels familiar, something he acknowledges and embraces. It seems very much as though he wrote knowing this, but that he wanted to prove to those that would privilege Western thinking that you can arrive at the same conclusions using the European philosophical lineage if you reframe yourself as a vital part of a much larger system that includes plants, animals and the land. I presently find writers who consider the perspective of what could be termed "settler studies" in their discourse to be much more exciting and provoking, but Naess' writing is comforting and solid, and I'm glad to have read it. It feels somewhat like taking a riverside hike in the woods. The views aren't necessarily thrilling, but they're still beautiful.

[Tucker Andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Soooo sick. Recommended to me by a Romanian dude who used to work for Greenpeace. So good I might read Spinoza’s Ethics for fun?? Pretty dense philosophy at points, pretty dense conversation about Norway’s mountains at points, but the good chapters are so good it doesn’t matter. I think balancing a level of optimism alongside the understanding that this is The most important thing one should do right now is very good. His chapter on joy in particular is so awesome- there is a level of joy which is necessary to have when you’re doing work for good. I don’t agree with all of his opinions, but I think we would all be in a better place if we lived more like him. If you’re into philosophy at all- read this

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even though there are lots(or most) to disagree with when it comes to Arne Næss he still manages to earn quite some respect with his dedication and example, as well as his logic and approach to philosophy from first prinicples. I picked up this book mainly to see how he worked with the concept of wisdom, as it is a big part of his philosophy, Ecosophy, and in dire need of a definition if used. It sure was interesting to read, but especially the first part. Lots of this collection is very dry and ventures into areas like Spinoza and Buddhism that I'm not that much into. Still, for me, it was a different kind of read and it inspired in me a lot of new thoughts.

[Albemarle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a mixed book for me – between brilliant essays that will really help me to think and to write, and other essays that were, in a sense, beyond my field of interest. His deep ecological movement is obviously vital for our survival, but it is disheartening to see the changes since his essays – they re not promising. A reduction in world population was one important issue, instead it has at least doubled. No wonder Næss wrote: “The great Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, the father of existentialism as a philosophical movement, insisted that human beings are always in “deep water”.

[Joonas · Rating 4 out of 5]

For not any obvious reason I've been drawn to mountains and Pentti Linkola as long as I remember. Then I learned that they have in common this Norwegian dude and it was clear I needed to know more. Still it took more than ten years to come a cross some of his core writings and actually stumbled into his old pitons on Stetinden much earlier.

So there was a big hype about this read finally and I think it was worth it. But to be honest, with my backround not-in-philosohy-or-even-close it was also a lot of plowing.

Anyhow some of the ideas I feel that I really got and more importantly they offered glimpses of things that i feel strongly about connecting with each other in a way perhaps not before.

[Joe Ingledew · Rating 3 out of 5]

The general idea of the deep ecology is fantastic and puts neoliberal shallow environmental policies to shame. However, some of the other writings were hard to follow with no coherency or relevance to me, Naess is a top bloke tho.

[Greer Lowenstein · Rating 3 out of 5]

pretty philosophically dense for a casual read but has a lot of elements that are resonant for anyone aligned with the deep ecology movement!

also my copy of this became physically unbound as i was reading like pages falling out left and right…feels symbolic

[42 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This guy was good. Very good. (self-realization essay hit the sweetest)

[Oscar F · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leste i bruddstykker på tur oslo-bergen.

[Shortsman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good overall, although I didn't understand the purpose of section 3.

[Tim Brennan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An underrated thinker of our times. This is a great selection of Arne Naess’s life perspective on the environment in which he unveils deep ecology.

[Ollie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Parts are very interesting, but this is a heavy book that assumes you have read the pervious works, which are only avaliable in Norwegian....

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

cool but ultimately monist ecotheory is a no from me

[Radhika · Rating 4 out of 5]

so many interesting essays. spinoza and freud, lacan and kant even. favourite was the one on creativity. lovely book.

[Terence Beney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Incidentally absorbing: it's not compelling while I read it, but I revisit repeatedly. The translation is not always great I think (where there is translation, Naes wrote in English too. Unfortunately the introductory essay is awful.

[Kathy]

Saw a good review of this in Ode Magazine. He is a mentor of mine, from one of his first widely read books, Deep Ecology.