Abstract
This essay examines Arne Naess’s conception of the ecological self in connection with the work of ecofeminist Val Plumwood and claims that Naess’s thought is able to avoid some of the criticisms of deep ecology that Plumwood voices. Following an analysis of Plumwood’s position, it is argued that Naess does not subscribe to what Plumwood terms the “indistinguishability thesis,” but that the notion of identification appears problematic due to its tendency to emphasize sameness in relations to others. The paper ends with a discussion of comments made by Naess in a recent interview that can be seen to respond to this problem.
