Nietzsche's Three Types of History

In class this week we discussed Friedrick Nietzsche and his philosophy on history. Nietzsche believed there were three types of history which were monumental, antiquarian, and critical. The first type of history Friedrick discusses is monumental history. Monumental history essentially means writing history to make a great hero even greater. Friedrick explains: “That the great moments in the struggle of individuals form a chain, that in them the high points of humanity are linked throughout millennia, that what is highest in such a moment of the distant past be for me still alive, bright and great – this is the fundamental thought of the faith in humanity which is expressed in the demand for a monumental history.” The next topic of history he discussed was antiquarian history. Nietzsche's conception of antiquarian history revolves around the local history of specific social and civic communities. This means, a historian's musings about his or her city, or a recounting the history of his or her country. It is the sort of history that remembers socially, both productively and unproductively. Finally, the last type of history Friedrick discussed was critical history. Friedrick describes this type of history as the sort of history one utilizes when the monumental structures fail to inspire and learning becomes unproductive thoughts and a conservative motionlessness.