Vetlesen, Arne Johan, 1960-

Arne Johan Vetlesen (born 10 September 1960) is a Norwegian professor of philosophy at the University of Oslo, who concentrates on the topic of ethics, environmental philosophy and social philosophy. He took the cand.mag. (similar to BA) degree in sociology and anthropology, before studying at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Frankfurt am Main from 1985 to 1990 under the guidance of Jürgen Habermas. He took the dr.philos. degree at the University of Oslo in 1993. Before becoming a full professor at the University of Oslo in 1998, Vetlesen worked as a research fellow and associate professor. He is a member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. Vetlesen works interdisciplinary, often combining his philosophical theses with insights from psychology, sociology and anthropology. He is the author of more than twenty books on diverse topics such as environmental philosophy, moral philosophy, hermeneutics and psychoanalysis, social philosophy, consumerism and capitalism. His books in English include Cosmologies of the Anthropocene (2019), The Denial of Nature (2015), A Philosophy of Pain (2009), Evil and Human Agency (2005), Perception, Empathy, and Judgment (1994), and Closeness (1997).