ABSTRACT
As a powerful critique of many aspects of modernity, Friedrich Nietzsche's Beyond Good and Evil is widely studied today and often included as reading material for contemporary courses in both moral and nineteenth-century philosophy. Within contemporary moral philosophy in the analytic tradition, Nietzsche's views challenge established research methods in two important ways. First, he argues that moral philosophy should have a closer connection with psychology. The starting point for reflection in analytic moral philosophy tends to be a set of intuitive and often only partially expressed judgments that are then brought to bear on specific concrete cases, such as Philippa Foot's trolley problem. Second, Nietzsche challenges the assumption that our Judeo-Christian morality is absolutely binding. This morality says, "I am morality itself and nothing else is moral!" Within contemporary analytic moral philosophy, the belief that selflessness is a virtue is taken for granted. Nietzsche is merely opposed to a specifically Judeo-Christian interpretation of morality.
