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, and ...

. 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 Kristiansand Airport ( no, Kristiansand lufthavn; ) is an international airport serving Kristiansand Municipality in Agder county, Norway. The airport is located in the district of Tveit in the Oddernes borough, about by road and by air from t ...

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 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 typi ...

, 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 universit ...

. 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 dam ...

, 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 century ...

, Peter Wessel Zapffe and Henri Bergson, he eventually developed his own original variant of ecophilosophy. He graduated as

cand.mag. Candidatus magisterii (male), or candidata magisterii (female), abbreviated as cand.mag., is an academic degree currently awarded in Denmark. The degree is officially translated into English as Master of Arts and currently requires 5 years of stud ...

in 1966, with the thesis, ''Musikk-kritikk og kommunikasjon''. In 1970 he took actively part in protests against development of the waterfall of

Mardalsfossen Mardalsfossen is a waterfall in Molde Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is sometimes referred to as one of the tallest waterfalls in Europe. The falls are on the Mardøla river which flows out of a hanging valley into the lak ...

. An able mountain climber, he travelled to

Rolwaling Himal Rolwāling Valley ( ne, रोल्वालिङ् भ्याली. ), knows as a (Gaurishankar) rural municipality, is a section of the Himalayas in east-central Nepal along the Tibet border. Rolwaling Himal includes Melungtse 7181m and ...

to study the Sherpa people native to

Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...

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 10 ...

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

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...

. In the late 1970s he was engaged in the

Alta controversy The Alta conflict or Alta controversy refers to a series of massive protests in Norway in the late 1970s and early 1980s concerning the construction of a hydroelectric power plant in the Alta River in Finnmark, Northern Norway. Timeline *Inhabitan ...

and in protests against construction of the Innerdalsvatnet dam in the

Orkla River Orkla may refer to: Places * Orkla (river), a river in Trøndelag county, Norway Business * Orkla Group (or ''Orkla ASA''), a large Norwegian company * Orkla Mining Company, a historic company in Norway * Orkla Metall, a former smelting company in ...

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