Arne Dekke Eide Næss ( ; 27 January 1912 – 12 January 2009) was a Norwegian philosopher who coined the term deep ecology and was an important intellectual and inspirational figure within the environmental movement of the late twentieth century. Næss cited Rachel Carson's 1962 book Silent Spring as being a key influence in his vision of deep ecology. Næss combined his ecological vision with Gandhian nonviolence and on several occasions participated in direct action.