is nietzsche a moral skeptic, if so, what kind?

Question

is he a nihilist?

Answer 1

There is a particular interpretation of FWN which would espouse that understanding of him. Just because that particular interpretation exists does not mean that he was a nihilist. In fact, most great philosophers, especially Nietzsche, would try to avoid having a label like that attached to them.
As far as I know, the only label Nietzsche agreed to was "Aristocratic Radicalism" by a guy named Brandes. Here is an excerpt from an article surrounding this term:

"Berkowitz's study begins on a refreshing note. In opposition to the "postmodern" misreadings of Nietzsche, Berkowitz declares his intent to take seriously "the love of truth, the courage, and the yearning for the good that animate [Nietzsche's] magisterial effort to live an examined life by giving an account of the best life" (p. 21). This Socratic-sounding Nietzsche is the centerpiece of the book..."

And here is the link:
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:1TLHjAkD-48J:findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2346/is_n419_v105/ai_18573653+Nietzsche+aristocratic&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=8&gl=us

...I would urge you to further look into this issue, as a much better (less biased & more complete) interpretation of Nietzsche is now emerging.

Furthermore, you can do a google search with the words, NIETZSCHE ARISTOCRATIC RADICALISM...Once you've read some of the stories about what was going on back then (in about 1886), go back and try reading some FWN. You will see him in an entirely new light!

ADDITION:
My answer is giving you some help on the issue of nihilism. heeltap's deals with moral skepticism. Within the context of both answers, you should be aware of the difference in the terms. They are NOT interchangeable.

Good answer, H/T! You hit on the other aspect of the question.

Answer 2

I consider Nietzsche an intellectual rebel and adventurer who questioned the moral beliefs of the European Cultures of his time that were partly rooted in the authoritarian judeo-christian religions from the Middle East. He considered the beliefs so many held as restrictions holding back the creative potential of humanity to evolve into persons of even higher morality and greater intellect. You have to know alot about his ideas in the context of the major Q's philosophy revisits periodically and regularly. I know clearly from my ongoing studies of his thought that He never advocated immorality of any kind and he was an admirer of the Ancient Athenian Greeks. He advocated the Aristotelian intellectual virtues incl the "golden mean" rule to avoid extremes. I do note that he is named as among the group listed in this "introductory" wikipedia entry. But I urge all who see that list to look further into the works of the philosophers and to qualify the meaning of the categorizing term with respect to their ideas.

A Rush to conclusions or blanket categorizations are temporary memory aids that demand fuller explication based on real studies. Philosophy is very hard bec discriminations (of both kinds) are common among the philosophy devotees.

This is the entry:

"Moral skepticism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• Ten things you may not know about Wikipedia •Jump to: navigation, search
Moral skepticism is the meta-ethical view that no one has any moral knowledge. Some moral skeptics would even make the stronger modal claim that no one can have any moral knowledge. In either case, moral skepticism is particularly opposed to moral realism: the view that there are objective mind-independent moral truths.

Defenders of some form of moral skepticism include J. L. Mackie (1977), Friedrich Nietzsche, Richard Joyce (2001), Michael Ruse, Joshua Greene, Richard Garner, and the psychologist James Flynn. Strictly speaking, Gilbert Harman (1975) argues in favor of a kind of moral relativism, not moral skepticism. However, it has influenced some contemporary moral skeptics...--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_skepticism

WoW, I focused on the ground you left uncovered and betw the 2 of us the Q-asker has all that they need to pursue the Q further! Now this is doing real philosophy!!!

WoW and I are a league unto ourselves! This Q deserves more attention and more A's than its getting!!