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 Humanities Courses / Course / Chapter

Understanding Deep Ecology

Contributors: Nicholas Amendolare, Sunday Moulton
Learn about the deep ecology definition and structure. Discover how the idea of deep ecology proposes to
shift the paradigm of anthropocentrism to ecocentrism. Updated: 01/06/2022

Table of Contents

 Deep Ecology Definition

 The Principles of Deep Ecology

 Criticism of Deep Ecology

 Lesson Summary

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an example of deep ecology?

An example of deep ecology is the belief that all living things have inherent value. Where a
traditional environmentalist might focus on protecting salmon populations because they
are an important food source, a deep ecologist would argue that humans must protect all
fish species, and indeed all marine species.

What are the main points of deep ecology?

In the 1980s, Bill Devall and George Sessions outlined eight principles of Deep Ecology. All of
them center around the ideas that living things have value, that humans are no more
important than any other living thing, and that honoring these principles will require radical
changes to human daily life.

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Deep Ecology Definition 

The Deep Ecology movement began in 1972 with Norwegian philosopher Arne Naess. It can be
defined as a social movement aimed toward a philosophical shift, namely that humans should
stop viewing nature as a resource and begin to view it as something with inherent value. Those
who subscribe to "deep ecology" sometimes contrast their view with those who practice

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"shallow ecology". They argue that typical environmentalists concern themselves with issues like
pollution only when its effects threaten the lives and livelihoods of humans. Deep ecology
argues that nature, and indeed all living things, deserve respect and protection.

Deep ecology runs counter toward more anthropocentric views of nature whose origin can be
traced all the way back to the Bible. In the Book of Genesis, God says, "Let us make humankind
in our image...and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air,
and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth." He then instructs mankind to "be
fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it".

The Dead Sea Scrolls are the oldest surviving copy of the Book of Genesis, dating back over 2,000
years.

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The Principles of Deep Ecology 

The phrase "deep ecology" can be traced back to a 1973 article Naess wrote, called "The shallow
and the deep, long range ecology movement". But it wasn't until the 1980s that Bill Devall and
George Sessions, building upon the work of Naess, outlined their eight principles of deep
ecology, as summarized below:

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Criticism of Deep Ecology 

Lesson Summary 

Additional Info

Scandinavian Environmental Ethics

While a number of ecological movements and ethical perspectives developed in the United
States during the environmental crisis of the 1970s, not all perspectives came from American
philosophers. Around this same time, the deep ecology movement arose in Scandinavia.
Introduced in the early 1970s, the movement formed from conversations between Arne Næss, a
Norwegian philosopher, and his colleagues Sigmund Kvaløy and Nils Faarlund.

The three colleagues, all avid mountain climbers, traveled to the Himalayan Mountains on
vacation. Their interaction with the Sherpas, an ethnic group in the Himalayas who often work
as guides, influenced their perspectives on environmental ethics. Specifically, it was the way
Sherpas considered certain mountains as their own entities, sacred in their own right, and thus
would not trespass on the mountain's domain.

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6/24/23, 2:17 PM Deep Ecology in Environmental Ethics | What is Deep Ecology? | Study.com

Deep ecology was partially inspired by Sherpa culture.

Deep Ecology
Again, deep ecology is just one of several perspectives to arise in environmental ethics.
Environmental ethics is a philosophical domain concerned with human interaction with nature
and the morally right ways of behaving toward and thinking about nature. Deep ecology was so
named by Næss because it specifically required people to question their most basic values and
purposes when interacting with other species and entities in nature. With entities, Næss was
referring to non-biological entities like mountains, rivers, and the atmosphere.

This diagram shows how deep ecology moves from basic actions to deeper questions.

Næss saw deep ecology as separate from, but not incompatible with, other ecological
movements, which he deemed shallow ecology. ''Shallow'' and ''deep'' provided descriptive
terms for the level of introspection and the societal transformation required to fulfill what Næss
thought of as humankind's obligation to nature. Shallow ecology movements, according to
Næss, aimed to develop solutions to ecological problems and ecological ethics through the
systems and institutions already established in society. These were predominantly based in
science and involved modifying consumer culture.

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Principles of Deep Ecology

Næss developed eight principles to outline the perspective of deep ecology and guide ethical
practices:
1. There is intrinsic value to the well-being of all life on earth, human and non-human alike.
2. This intrinsic value is realized in and supported by the rich diversity of life forms on the planet.
3. Except when satisfying their basic survival needs, humans have no right to reduce this rich diversity.
4. The current human impact on other life forms is detrimental, excessive, and accelerating.
5. For non-human life to thrive, the human population must substantially decrease. However, this does
not mean humans cannot flourish nor does it mean reducing the rich diversity of human cultures.
6. To remedy society's impact on nature, there must be a deep and fundamental change in policies,
economics, technology, and even ideologies, resulting in a vastly different society.
7. Required ideological changes include abandoning the quest for ever-increasing standards of living,
mainly the relentless pursuit of excessive wealth.
8. Those who believe in these principles are morally obligated to help bring about the needed changes.

Deep ecology advocates coexisting with nature, much as this house by Frank Lloyd Wright incorporates human and natural spaces.

Confusion with Ecocentrism

Unfortunately, when the concept of deep ecology came to the U.S., it was often confused with
another perspective, ecocentrism. Ecocentrism argues that all natural entities have intrinsic
value, value based on its own right and not value gained by something's usefulness to human
interests. This perspective stands in opposition to anthropocentrism that bestows value based
on how well and in what way natural entities serve the interests of humanity.

Deep ecology and ecocentrism share some commonalities, such as ascribing intrinsic value to all
entities. Both views also value nature's need to thrive. Where they differ, however, is that
ecocentrism places the interests of the entire ecosystem above human interests, and deep
ecology professes to give them equal value. Additionally, deep ecology values individual entities
equally, while ecocentrism values the collective ecosystem and biological community over
individual life forms.

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