ecosophy

E1C3O1S1O1P3H4Y4

noun

Ecological philosophy, particularly of the type associated with the deep ecology movement.

Scrabble 18

Meanings

nounecosophy (countable and uncountable, plural ecosophies)

plural ecosophies

  1. countableuncountableEcological philosophy, particularly of the type associated with the deep ecology movement.

    […] ecosophy argues that an individual should act in such a way as to “do as little harm as possible.” The “oath” of those committed to ecosophy closely parallels that of medical doctors: Above all else do no harm.

    1996, Donald T. Wells, Environmental Policy: A Global Perspective for the Twenty-first Century, →ISBN
    2 more examples

    But Tompkins and his wife Kristine (former head of the Patagonia outdoor-clothing brand), claim to be committed to Deep Ecology, a radically conservationist, holistic "ecosophy" first articulated in the 1970s by Norwegian mountaineer-philosopher Arne Naess.

    2002 November 30, Chris Moss, “The ultimate wilderness”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

    His ideas on ecology and ecosophy were developed in numerous books and articles, notably “Freedom, Emotion and Self-Subsistence” (1975), “Ecology, Community and Lifestyle” (1989) and “Life’s Philosophy: Reason and Feeling in a Deeper World” (2002).

    2009 January 15, William Grimes, “Arne Naess, Norwegian Philosopher, Dies at 96”, in New York Times

Origin

Blend of ecology + philosophy, coined by Félix Guattari and Arne Næss.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

French écosophie
  • écosophieTranslations
German Ökosophie
  • ÖkosophieTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

ecosophy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ecosophy

MLA

“ecosophy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ecosophy. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ecosophy,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ecosophy.

Source: ecosophy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.