There is a dilemma over the practicality of history. Nietzsche, in his book “On the Advantage and Disadvantage of History for Life,” attempts to make history practical for the individual. It is the unhistorical in which Nietzsche explains how individuals overcome and prevent life from meaninglessness. It counters the factual science of the historical, in which there is meaninglessness and abundance of facts. In order to compensate for an abundance of meaningless historical facts, the unhistorical identifies those facts interpretively or subjectively creating meaning among historical facts. To find the correct balance between the unhistorical and the historical, plastic power acts as a scale to find equilibrium. Nietzsche explains that the unhistorical has three themes in which historical facts are interpreted; monumental antiquarian, and critical history. They serve to broaden or weaken an individual’s horizon. They are the antidote to historical fact. Nietzsche identifies monumental history as way to emphasize historical facts as having great significance. The significance of monumental history is imitation. It is composed of an achievement a nation, society, or individual has completed, and the result of the achievement is symbolically interpreted as something that is worth emulating. They become models or morals that are imitated. There are ‘great moments’ in time which encompass a “demand for monumental history” (Nietzsche, 15). Individual’s according to Nietzsche, strive for “what was possible once….be possible a second time” (Nietzsche, 16). As a result of the infatuation with monumental history, there is no longer a cause and effect, but only the “effects in themselves”; it does not explain how something appeared, it essentially explains the end product in order to emphasize an achievement (Nietzsche, 17). For example, Lester B. Pearson is interpreted as a man of integrity and achievement in the field of international peacekeeping. The success of his actions transformed Canada into a peacekeeping country. Monumentally, this has inspired Canadians to imitate this path and maintain the image of Canada as a ‘peacekeeping’ country. As monumental history identifies itself with the effect, antiquarian history reveals the cause. Antiquarian history preserves the past in order for origins to have meaning. Antiquarian history acts as the initial cause of an effect. A society inherits the past in order to have a sense of individuality; culture, norms, and values. These traits become cumulatively the individuality or uniqueness of a person or nation, and are preserved in order to maintain the image. Antiquarian history preserves uniqueness and lays the foundation for an evolving society. As Lester Pearson was a monumental figure for peacekeeping, peacekeeping has become a national identity that is preserved in Canada. The pride of Canadian peacekeeping is found in the way students are taught that Canada is a peaceful nation and helps countries vulnerable to war. As well, war ceremonies, Canadian involvement in NATO, and UN peacekeeping missions embrace and preserve the image of Canadian peacekeeping. Nietzsche typifies the attitude of the antiquarian perspective by remarking that “through…reverence he, gives thanks for his existence” (Nietsche, 19). Canadians find pride in their origins of peacekeeping, and as a result assists national unity. Antiquarian and monumental history serves to expand the horizon, but critical history is the result when there is an excess of the formers. Critical history is useful for horizons that are stagnant or in decay. Critical history identifies and provides interpretation concerning something that is detriment to an individual causing degradation. It identifies the problem in order for the individual to fix it. Critical history “is an attempt….. to give oneself a past from which one would like to be descended in opposition to the past from which one is descended” (Nietzsche, 22). Canada currently finds itself in this position over the legitimate extent international peacekeeping serves Canadians. Is the Afghanistan war a peacekeeping mission that provokes national unity or does it decay our unity? This is the fundamental question that is provoked by critical history. At a certain point Canada has successfully been a peacekeeping nation, but now the costs may be outweighing the benefits. Essentially, critical history seeks to get rid of something that no longer serves the interest of the individual. Monumental, antiquarian, and critical histories are important because they provide meaning. However, according to Nietzsche, it is possible to have too much meaning. For monumental history, the purpose is to emulate achievements, but when individuals no longer emulate they merely admire achievements. The practicality of monumental history is lost when individuals admire without the intention of acting them our; they become idlers. Antiquarian history looses its practicality as individuals become excessive in preserving things. If there are too many things that are preserved the value of antiquity is lost, and individuality becomes nothing more than finding new things to preserve. Similarly, critical history’s value dwindles as individuals excessively criticize things that are not detrimental to the individual. When things are not harmful it is self destructive to perceive it with a critical eye; it serves the intention to make it harmful when it is not. As well, the unhistorical themes are not objective truths; they are subjective to the attitudes of individuals or nations. Excessive subjectivity leads to a world that only relies on fictions, and facts are subordinate.

Nietzsche Summary: Question 5

Nick Turco-Gwozdowski 4579281 Richard Sembera HIS2197 April 13th , 2009

Works Cited

Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm. On the advantage and disadvantage of history for life. Indianapolis: Hackett Pub. Co., 1980.