Abstract

This paper explores the ethical aspects of an investigation into a forester's perception of his landscape. Three different ethical issues are addressed. The first issue concerns the ethics associated with the methodology of ethnology. The second concerns a forester's ethics. An example is provided which indicates how he applies values and aesthetics to the landscape in which he lives and works. Finally, the ethics of wilderness is discussed, concentrating on the different ways in which people perceive wilderness and wilderness issues, depending on their relationship with the forest landscape. The article concludes by questioning whether the ways in which wilderness is culturally constructed can lead to misconceptions about human-forest interaction, and by asking whether emphasis on wilderness as a positive value has been exaggerated.