This is the twenty-seventh installment of The Cocoon Goes Global, a series that gives a sense of what the philosophy profession looks like outside of the Anglophone West.
This guest post is written by Melina Duarte (Associate Professor at the Department of Philosophy at UiT The Arctic University of Norway) and Tor Ivar Hanstad (Head of the Department of Philosophy at the UiT The Arctic University of Norway).

A Norwegian landscape, picture by Tor Ivar.
- General Information
Norway is a narrow, but relatively long strip of coastal land on the Western side of the Scandinavian peninsula. In fact, if you could tip the country south around its southernmost point, the otherwise northernmost point of the Norwegian landmass would reach the Mediterranean. In addition to the mainland territory, the Islands of Svalbard and Jan Mayen are also counted as belonging to Norway. The nearest, and closest neighbor is Sweden, and the long eastern border is the longest border Norway share with any of its neighbors. To the south, and although separated by the Skagerrak sea, is Denmark, and in the north-east, Norway also shares borders with Finland and Russia. Topographically, Norway is characterized by her fjords and substantial archipelago running almost all the way to the north of the coastal line. In addition, in the major part of the country a mountain ridge stretches from the south and all the way up to the northernmost county. Norway offers exciting landscapes for visitors.
Although holding a relatively large territory, Norway is small country with regards to population: 5,3 million inhabitants. The population is concentrated in the southeastern region and especially in the capital Oslo (app 1 000 000 inhabitants). The whole country (apart from the mountains), however, is inhabited, and contrary to for example Sweden, in Norway one will find people living, although scattered, all over the mainland.
Norway did not reach the status of fully sovereign state until 1905. At first, Norway was in a union with Denmark lasting from 1521 to 1814 (often referred to as the 400-year night). In 1814, Norwegian politicians wrote and adopted the current constitution, declaring Norway as a sovereign state, and the date of signing, still remains the national day of Norway (17th May). However, Norway still had to stay in a union for almost one more century – this time with Sweden. In 1905, the union with the latter came to an end, and since then, Norway has been a sovereign kingdom. The current line of kings (and soon, queens) was elected in 1905, and came from the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksberg. One significant consequence of the centuries Norway endured as a junior union partner with Denmark and Sweden, is that Norway never developed a strong aristocracy.
Norway is today one of the richest countries in the world. Although traditionally a relatively poor nation of farmers and fishermen, the discovery of oil off the coast in the south-western sea, meant that Norway enjoyed a rapid increase in income since the drilling started in the late 1960’s. One reason to the increase in wealth is due to the fact that Norway chose to establish her own public oil company as the main operator, as well as establishing a trust, where the surplus of the oil revenue has been, and still is, channeled to the people.
Politically, Norway is a democracy, and the King’s role is only ceremonial. The real power sits with the Parliament, and in Norway the parliamentarism practiced is the so-called negative parliamentarism, meaning that the Government does not have to leave as long as there is not a majority in the Parliament against it. After the end of WWII, Norway had several decades where the Labor party was in sole majority. Due to this, Norway is one of the most “social democratic” countries in the world with respect to income equality and welfare systems and leads the ranking of the gender equality index. Of course, helped by the oil revenue, Norwegians enjoy free education (including universities), free health care, and a highly advanced system of social welfare. Norway is regularly among the top countries in rankings of the best countries to live in (security, welfare, freedom and so on), and together with her Nordic neighbors (Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland) is also among the countries that enjoys the highest level of trust between citizens and between citizens and the Government.
Even though Norway for the most part shares the same cultural features as any other Western democracy, one specific Norwegian feature is worth mentioning, namely the high number of cabins and holiday homes (according to the latest figures, the number is 440,000). This is due to the strong interest in outdoor life among Norwegians, be it in the mountains or at sea. No doubt, Norway, with its large amount of easily accessible wilderness (mountains, forests) and long coastal line, is especially suited for having outdoor life as a major part of people’s leisure time.
- Philosophy in Norway
Due to her relatively young age as a sovereign state, the Norwegian academic tradition is equally young, and publicly well-known philosophers do not enter the stage until the 20th century. Here, two names stand out. The first is Peter Wessel Zapffe (1899-1990), who was a multitalented scholar who, in addition to academic work, also wrote theatre plays, fiction, poems, etc. He originally started as a jurist but switched to philosophy when he wrote his doctoral thesis. The thesis, titled On the Tragic situated Zapffe in the existentialist camp within philosophy, and the text is a grim and pessimistic outline of the future of humanity. The key argument is that humans, unlike any other living species we know, are unable to live in balance with nature. Hence, the success of humans will inevitably become the reason for its downfall once we overstretch the limits of the nature that we are dependent upon.
The second philosopher worthy a mention, is Arne Naess (1912-2009). Naess started his career as a classic logical positivist and was at one point affiliated with the Vienna circle. He was also the first professional philosopher who became publicly known in Norway and became full time Professor already at the age of 27. However, in his mid- and late career, Naess shifted the philosophical gaze towards environmental philosophy, and perhaps his most important work, is a book on what he labeled “ecosophy” or “deep ecology”. The book is, contrary to Zapffe’s pessimism, an attempt to show that an ecological alternative is still open to humanity if the species is willing to change to a more ecologically sustainable lifestyle. Hence, the best-known philosophers in Norway were, at least indirectly, concerned with environmental philosophy, and given their personal lifestyles as dedicated mountain climbers with a passion for outdoor life in the mountains, their philosophical orientation is not surprising.
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