Sigmund Kvaløy Setreng (20 September 1934 – 27 May 2014) was a Norwegian philosopher, illustrator, mountain climber, environmental activist and politician. He was born in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, an ...

. Among his publications are ''Musikk-kritikk og kommunikasjon'' from 1966, ''Økokrise, natur og menneske'' from 1976, and ''Mangfold og tid. Pyramide-mennesket ved skillevegen: System, frihet eller kaos?'' from 2001.

Personal life

Setreng was born in

to schoolteachers Anders Kvaløy and Kirsti Sætereng, and grew up in Lom. He married nurse Kirsten Rogndokken in 1962. In 1981 he changed his name from Sigmund Kvaløy to Sigmund Sætereng, and further to Setreng in 1983.

Career

Having passed

examen artium Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1 ...

in 1955, Setreng underwent technical training at Kjevik with the

Royal Norwegian Air Force The Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) ( no, Luftforsvaret, , The Air Defence) is the air force of Norway. It was established as a separate arm of the Norwegian Armed Forces on 10 November 1944. The RNoAF's peacetime establishment is approximatel ...

, and subsequently worked with maintenance of aircraft at

Gardermoen Air Station Station Group Gardermoen (Norwegian: Gardermoen flystasjon) is located about 50 km north of Oslo, Norway. It is colocated with Norway's main airport, Oslo Airport, Gardermoen. 335 Squadron and 717 Squadron of the Royal Norwegian Air Force a ...

. Through reading of

Laozi Laozi (), also known by numerous other names, was a semilegendary ancient Chinese Taoist philosopher. Laozi ( zh, ) is a Chinese honorific, generally translated as "the Old Master". Traditional accounts say he was born as in the state of ...

and

Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It typ ...

, he developed an interest in philosophy, and from 1958 he started studying at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top univers ...

. Interested in nature and

environmental protection Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment by individuals, organizations and governments. Its objectives are to conserve natural resources and the existing natural environment and, where possible, to repair da ...

, and influenced by

Arne Næss Arne Dekke Eide Næss (; 27 January 1912 – 12 January 2009) was a Norwegian philosopher who coined the term " deep ecology", an important intellectual and inspirational figure within the environmental movement of the late twentieth centu ...

Peter Wessel Zapffe Peter Wessel Zapffe (18 December 1899 – 12 October 1990) was a Norwegian philosopher, author, artist, lawyer and mountaineer. He is often noted for his philosophically pessimistic and fatalistic view of human existence. His system of ...

and

Henri Bergson Henri-Louis Bergson (; 18 October 1859 – 4 January 1941) was a French philosopherHenri Bergson. 2014. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 13 August 2014, from https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/61856/Henri-Bergson

, he eventually developed his own original variant of ecophilosophy. He graduated as cand.mag. in 1966, with the thesis, ''Musikk-kritikk og kommunikasjon''. In 1970 he took actively part in protests against development of the waterfall of Mardalsfossen. An able mountain climber, he travelled to Rolwaling Himal to study the

Sherpa people The Sherpa are one of the Tibetan ethnic groups native to the most mountainous regions of Nepal, Tingri County in the Tibet Autonomous Region and the Himalayas. The term ''sherpa'' or ''sherwa'' derives from the Sherpa language words ("east ...

native to

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...

and the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over ...

, and fascinated by their way of thinking, he converted to

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

. In the late 1970s he was engaged in the Alta controversy and in protests against construction of the

Innerdalsvatnet Innerdalsvatnet is a lake in Tynset Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is a significant part of the Orkla watershed. The lake lies about west of the village of Yset. The northwest end of the lake has a large dam on it to control the ...

dam in the

Orkla River Orkla may refer to: Places * Orkla (river), a river in Trøndelag county, Norway Business * Orkla Group Orkla ASA is a Norwegian conglomerate operating in the Nordic region, Eastern Europe, Asia and the US. At present, Orkla operates in the b ...

Selected works

*, thesis * * * * *

References

External links

OpenAirPhilosophy
presents a rich and representative selection of the environmental thinking of Sigmund Kvaløy Setreng and of two Norwegian philosophers: Arne Naess and Peter Wessel Zapffe. Also interviews and articles on Setreng are available for download at this website. Its aim is to engage readers and provoke additional scholarship. {{DEFAULTSORT:Setreng, Sigmund Kvaloy 1934 births 2014 deaths People from Trondheim Norwegian philosophers Norwegian illustrators Academic staff of the University of Oslo