On The Advantage And Disadvantage Of History For Life

Nietzsche re-asserts the importance of history in service to life. He distinguishes three kinds of history: monumental, antiquarian, and critical. Castigating “idlers,” Nietzsche claims that the active human “uses history as a means against resignation” (15). Such individuals are motivated to increase the happiness of themselves, their people, or of mankind.

The monumental form of history is envisioned as a “chain” of individuals whose acts are “linked throughout the millennia” (15). In this kind of history, great acts are eternal. This is problematic because while such great acts may be inspiring, they invalidate lowlier lives. Nietzsche also disputes whether a great act may be extricated from its context. National, religious, and military days of remembrance fall into this category. Monumental history also runs the risk of mythologizing the past. References to the monumental acts of the past can also discourage new monumental acts in the present.

Each of the three kinds of history is appropriate only in certain circumstances. The antiquarian approach to history assists a conservative approach, while the oppressed use recourse to critical history to oppose their present constraints.