Paper on Næss´ views on economics presented at ISQOLS 2025 in Luxembourg

Today, on the last day of the 23rd Annual Conference of the International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies (ISQOLS 2025), held in Luxembourg (organised by STATEC Research and ISQOLS) July 22-25th with the theme “Redefining Progress: Achieving Sustainable Well-being for All”, I presented the paper "What deep ecologist Arne Næss can teach us about the interdisciplinary nature of economics” in session 22A, “Special Session on Legitimate Public Policies: Promoting Well-being and Ecological Sustainability”, which was chaired by Joonas Uotinen. Jan Karlstrøm and Thomas Hylland Eriksen were credited as co-authors. Some 20-25 people attended.

"What deep ecologist Arne Næss can teach us about the interdisciplinary nature of economics" accepted for presentation at ISQOLS 2025

I have been notified by the organizers of the 23rd Annual Conference of the International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies (ISQOLS 2025), “Redefining Progress: Achieving Sustainable Well-being for All”, to be held in Luxembourg July 22-25th, that my paper submission "What deep ecologist Arne Næss can teach us about the interdisciplinary nature of economics" has been accepted for oral presentation. My paper will be based on a Norwegian-language article co-written with Jan Karlstrøm and Thomas Hylland Eriksen, and was submitted tied to the topic "Disciplinary Approaches to Well-Being, Happiness and Quality-of-life".

Abstract for ISQOLS 2025: "What deep ecologist Arne Næss can teach us about the interdisciplinary nature of economics"

I have just composed and submitted the abstract below to the organizers of The 23rd Annual Conference of the International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies (ISQOLS 2025), which is to be held 22-25 July, 2025, in Luxembourg.

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What deep ecologist Arne Næss can teach us about the interdisciplinary nature of economics

By Morten Tønnessen (presenter), Jan Karlstrøm and Thomas Hylland Eriksen (deceased 2024)

The Norwegian philosopher Arne Næss (1912-2009) criticized modern economics for its lack of philosophical awareness and interdisciplinarity, suggesting that economists should draw inspiration from the field’s origins in philosophy. Næss’ views on how the economy should be organized and studied are significant for a proper understanding of his overall philosophy, particularly in light of his differentiation between a deep and shallow understanding of environmental issues. In this paper we review Næss’ critique of economics as an academic discipline and discuss his proposals for transforming our approach to economics, considering both its historical development and the ongoing environmental crisis. Specifically, we emphasize the importance of philosophy, ecology, and social anthropology as foundational elements for economics. Our primary reference is the Norwegian-language chapter “New tasks for political economy” from Næss’ major work in environmental philosophy, "Ecology, Community and Lifestyle". We deal with Næss’ view on the use of models and the relationship between theory and reality, the fundamental connection between ecology and the economy, what role normative systems thinking can play for economics, and how economics can be informed by economic anthropology. Our treatment of Næss´ philosophy of economics includes an investigation of his views on relations between people´s quality of life and GDP growth, and his conception of progress and welfare. In conclusion we reflect on the implications of our analysis of Arne Næss’ economic viewpoints for the future of economics. We see a need for a reorientation within economics with an increased focus on environmental issues as understood by ecologists, a reframed focus on values and goods as understood by philosophers, and a renewed emphasis on promotion of welfare as the primary goal of economics. In practice, the latter reorientation will imply adopting John Stuart Mill's categorization of economics as a branch of social philosophy.

Topic: Disciplinary Approaches to Well-Being, Happiness and Quality-of-life

Keywords: Arne Næss, Deep ecology, Ecological economics, Environmental philosophy, GDP growth, Interdisciplinarity, John Stuart Mill, Normative systems thinking, Philosophy of economics, Political economy, Quality of life, Social anthropology, Welfare