Arne Dekke Eide Næss ( ; 27 January 1912 – 12 January 2009) was a Norwegian philosopher who coined the term
deep ecology and was an important intellectual and inspirational figure within the
environmental movement of the late twentieth century. Næss cited
Rachel Carson's 1962 book
Silent Spring as being a key influence in his vision of deep ecology. Næss combined his ecological vision with Gandhian
nonviolence and on several occasions participated in
direct action.