Nietzsche's Moral Psychology

Nietzsche a trained philologist frequently urges his readers to interpret him carefully. In this book Mark Alfano combines detailed close reading with digital methods (corpus analysis and semantic network visualization) to reframe our understanding of this major figure. He argues that virtue is a neglected concept in Nietzsche''s writings and sets out a fresh interpretation of Nietzschean virtues as well-calibrated drives. As different people embody different constellations of drives so virtues differ from person to person. For Nietzsche himself Alfano argues five virtues are essential: curiosity courage a sense of humor and pathos of distance (that is contemptuousness) toward one''s self and toward one''s society. This innovative and original book will be invaluable for historians of philosophy contemporary researchers in moral psychology and virtue theory and philosophers interested in the fast-growing methodologies of the digital humanities.