Nietzsche's Ethics of Place

In this paper, I will argue that Nietzsche’s free spirit philosophy provides an ethics of place, showing its similarities with the environmental philosophy and movement of bioregionalism. After outlining a brief history of bioregionalism from its beginnings until its recent developments, I will bring Nietzsche’s free spirit philosophy into dialogue with the main thinkers of bioregionalism such as Peter Berg, Jim Dodge, and Gary Snyder. Nietzsche’s free spirit philosophy is seen to provide fertile ground for acquiring the sense of place which for bioregionalists is a necessary precondition for taking concrete action towards sustainability.