British psychologists Character Analysis in On the Genealogy of Morals

Nietzsche characterizes British psychologists as empirical thinkers. They believe that the mind is originally blank, and people learn concepts and ideas by perceiving the world around them, absorbing sensory data (sight, touch, smell, sound, and taste). Like Nietzsche, British psychologists tend to believe that people aren’t born with an intrinsic moral code, but learn about morality from the society they live in. British psychologists put a lot of emphasis on selfless behavior, but Nietzsche thinks they’re wrong about that because in ancient societies, being “good” meant being powerful, not being nice.

British psychologists Character Timeline in On the Genealogy of Morals

The timeline below shows where the character British psychologists appears in On the Genealogy of Morals. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

1. Nietzsche thinks about how morals come about. British psychologists argue that our moral beliefs accumulate passively over time, like habits. It’s embarrassing to acknowledge... (full context)

2. Nietzsche applauds British psychologists , but he thinks they’ve got morality’s origin story wrong. They argue that people start... (full context)