Bill Devall portrait photograph

Bill Devall (1938-2009) was an American sociologist who co-authored Deep Ecology: Living as if Nature Mattered (1985) with George Sessions. The book introduced deep ecology philosophy to North American audiences and examined the philosophical, psychological, and sociological dimensions of the environmental movement.

Born in Kansas City, Devall earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Kansas and graduate degrees from the University of Hawaii and the University of Oregon. His doctoral thesis examined governance in the Sierra Club. He taught briefly at the University of Alberta before joining the Sociology Department at Humboldt State University in 1968, where he remained for his teaching career.

At Humboldt State, Devall taught courses on wilderness, forestry, and radioactive waste issues alongside traditional sociology. He was influenced by Arne Naess’s writings on deep ecology and Gary Snyder’s poetry. His work with Sessions sought to distinguish deep ecology’s ecocentric perspective from what they termed “shallow” or reformist environmentalism.

Devall wrote additional books including Simple in Means, Rich in Ends: Practicing Deep Ecology (1988) and Living Richly in an Age of Limits (1993). He co-edited The Ecology of Wisdom: Writings by Arne Naess (2008) with Alan Drengson.

He was a founding member of the North Coast Environmental Center in Arcata, California and participated in local conservation efforts. In 1990, he took part in Redwood Summer, blocking access to northern California forests. This led to a national campaign funded by the Foundation of Deep Ecology, resulting in the Sierra Club publication Clearcut: The Tragedy of Industrial Forestry (1995), which Devall edited.

Devall practiced Buddhism with the Arcata Zen Group and connected Buddhist principles with environmental thought. He died at his home in Trinidad, California on June 26, 2009.

Key Concepts

Essential Works

  1. “Deep Ecology: Living as if Nature Mattered” (Gibbs Smith, 1985) - ISBN 978-0-87905-247-3 - With George Sessions
  2. “Simple in Means, Rich in Ends: Practicing Deep Ecology” (Gibbs Smith, 1988) - ISBN 978-0-87905-318-0
  3. “Living Richly in an Age of Limits” (Gibbs Smith, 1993) - ISBN 978-0-87905-550-4
  4. “The Ecology of Wisdom: Writings by Arne Naess” (Counterpoint, 2008) - ISBN 978-1-58243-401-3 - Co-editor with Alan Drengson
  5. “Clearcut: The Tragedy of Industrial Forestry” (Sierra Club Books, 1995) - ISBN 978-0-87156-426-0 - Editor

Selected Quotes

We need to accept the invitation to the dance - the dance of unity of humans, plants, animals, the Earth. We need to cultivate an ecological consciousness. — Deep Ecology (1985)

The environmental/ecology movement has been a response to the awareness by many people that something is drastically wrong, out of balance in our contemporary culture. — Deep Ecology (1985)

We may not need a new ecological philosophy, but need to reawaken something very old, to reawaken our understanding of Earth wisdom. — Deep Ecology (1985)

This book is an attempt at codifying a scattered body of ecological insight into a philosophy that places human beings on an absolutely equal footing with all other creatures on the planet. — Deep Ecology (1985)

Deep ecology is not just a pragmatic, short-term social movement. It attempts to question and present alternatives to conventional ways of thinking in the modern West. — Various writings

The work of many ecologists has encouraged the adoption of an ecological consciousness, changing the role of Homo sapiens from conqueror of the land community to plain member and citizen of it. — Deep Ecology (1985), referencing Aldo Leopold

Further Reading

Biographical Sources

Key Books

Related Resources