The mother of Arne Næss was
one of the first to have a cabin at
Ustaoset. Already at a young age,
he became strongly attached to
the area and the «big» mountain,
which seemed to be bigger than
anything else—Hallingskarvet.
Arne has described the feelings
for Hallingskarvet as «overwhel-
mingly powerful, towering, solid,
stable, basically quiet, self-re-
specting—characteristics that
I, myself, would very much like
to have, but, generally, didn’t.»
Even as a 10-year old, Arne was
drawn to the large mountain;
and as a 25-year old, he realized
his dream of living up under
the “Skarvet”—in his own cabin,
Tvergastein.
regarded as the founder of deep
ecology and the eight ecological
points. Deep ecology means that
man is a part of a whole. All life
has an intrinsic value, and not
just on the basis of what value
it has for man.
The Mountain
Philosopher
Arne Dekke Eide Næss
(1912-2009), who built the
cabin, Tvergastein, in 1937,
was considered one of
Norway’s most notable
philosophers.
Arne Næss was a pioneer and
activist in Norwegian nature
and environmental protection,
as well as a renowned moun-
tain climber; who, among other
things, lead the first ascent of
Tirich Mir in 1950. Through his
career as professor of philosophy
(1939-1969) he contributed to the
development of the discipline of
philosophy, in general, and the
philosophical examination, in
particular. Through text books
in logic, argumentation theory,
scientific philosophy, and the
history of philosophy, several
generations of Norwegian stu-
dents have been influenced by
his ideas.Arne Næss was also
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PHOTO: BJØRN FURUSETH
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