Nietzsche's Relation to Historical Methods and Nineteenth-century German Historiography

Bibliographic Data

ID3168756
AuthorsThomas H Brobjer (Uppsala University, corresponding author)
Year2007
Volume46
Issue2
Pages155-179
Publication date2007-05-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueHistory and Theory (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0018-2656 • E-ISSN: 1468-2303
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1468-2303.2007.00397.x
OpenAlexW1995600518
LanguageEN
Citations received5

Nietzsche is generally regarded as a severe critic of historical method and scholarship; this view has influenced much of contemporary discussions about the role and nature of historical scholarship. In this article I argue that this view is seriously mistaken (to a large degree because of the somewhat misleading nature of Vom Nutzen und Nachtheil der Historie für das Leben). I do so by examining what he actually says about understanding history and historical method, as well as his relation to the founders of modern German historiography (Wolf, Niebuhr, Ranke, and Mommsen). I show, contrary to most expectations, that Nietzsche knew these historians well and that he fundamentally affirmed their view of historical method. What he primarily objected to among his contemporaries was that historical scholarship was often regarded as a goal in itself, rather than as a means, and consequently that history was placed above philosophy. In fact, a historical approach was essential for Nietzsche's whole understanding of philosophy, and his own philosophical project

Archaeology · Art · Comparative historical research · Epistemology · German · Historical Jesus · Historical method · Historiography · Literature · Philosophy of history · Political science · Relation (database · Scholarship · Social science · Sociology · Theology · Classics · German Literature and Culture Studies · History · Law · Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, and Hegel · Philosophy · Philosophy and Historical Thought · Religious studies · Religious Studies

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