"Read Nietzsche's Use and Abuse of History (Part 1)" Transcript

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Do you often feel like your life is overwhelmed? Endless overtime, endless goals, endless loans, endless family affairs... But every now and then I stop and look, only to find myself just turning like a machine, but what turns Where and why do I keep spinning like this, whether there is anything I want, what I really like and be good at, I have no time to think about it; what I want and can I want, I have no time to think about; what is suitable for me and what is not suitable for me I, too late to think. From starting school, to working, to getting married and having children, from one's own academic performance, to professional aspirations, to marriage partners... Most of them are like this. Days and nights passed, and we were drawn more and more tightly into a terrifying whirlwind, falling more and more quickly and uncontrollably. We clearly feel that great, black force, but we don't know what it is; we want to resist, but gradually we find that it is too great, too powerful, all pervasive around us, forcing us bit by bit yield.

This kind of "depression of the times", which weighs on the body and mind, is an experience that young people of every era experience, struggle against, and coexist with. It's a generation that's getting worse and worse. What the hell is holding our head down? What is it that we have to live a "paralyzed life" despite having hands and feet, full of desire for freedom and integrity? What is the age we live in? Who took our enthusiasm and vitality? Do we have any hope of crawling out of this anguish?

The little book we’re going to read together today, Nietzsche’s The Uses and Abuses of History, can help us answer many of these questions. It may not be a panacea for all problems, because there is no such panacea in the world; but it can at least lead us through this thicker and thicker fog, and in a world of dead silence, we will hear an arrogant and The loud voice is shouting: go to live! Go to action! Go fight!

Let's start by answering the question "why read Nietzsche".

How did you first hear about Nietzsche? Which Nietzsche books have you read? Which one do you like best? What kind of person do you think of Nietzsche? Do you think Nietzsche had an impact on your life?

The first time I read Nietzsche was probably when I was in junior high school. At that time, I went to the school library to borrow books, and occasionally found a book called "Human Nature, Too Human". I thought the title was very interesting, so I took it down and read it. Who knew it would open up a new world. The youth of many people is exploded, and it is exploded, sometimes it is a book, sometimes it is a person. For me, Nietzsche is one of the most important. In the years that followed, I devoured all of Nietzsche's writings. To be honest, I didn't read all of them at the time, but I had a strong and complex feeling in my heart: I was extremely excited to find out that there were such ideas and people in the world; at the same time, I was also greatly depressed, and it was over, He has written everything that should be written.

Later, I read more and more books, but this feeling never left me. Like many people, my life has been marked by Nietzsche. My view of Nietzsche's views has changed with age and knowledge, but this emotional imprint never fades. This is Nietzsche.

And I know I'm not alone at all. There are many like-minded people around me. Since the 20th century, most of the writers, artists, philosophers, thinkers, scholars, etc. we can name have been walking on the road illuminated by Nietzsche. After a long time, there are countless aspiring young people from all walks of life all over the world. They also walk on this road hand in hand, like a river, like a river.

On the one hand, Nietzsche's philosophy is the philosophy farthest from popular culture. As an aristocratic philosopher, a man who despises mediocrity and believes in superman, a man who made enemies everywhere in his life and finally went crazy, he is almost synonymous with loneliness. But on the other hand, he is one of the few thinkers whose influence can spill over into the academic world and into the daily life of modern people; he is probably also one of the few philosophers who can write best-selling books, not to mention his famous words and theories. From academia to soap operas, it is widely spread everywhere.

What kind of charm does Nietzsche have to become the idol and ideological enlightener of so many young people all over the world? To answer this question, there is no better way than to read what he himself wrote. All second-hand Nietzsche is unreliable, because the more genius and original something is, the worse and scarier the second-hand version is .

Why choose this one?

Nietzsche has written so richly in his life that the book "The Uses and Abuses of History" is not ranked first in Nietzsche's works in terms of systemicity and popularity, but I chose this one. why?

The reason that bears the brunt is of course the one mentioned at the beginning: because this is not an academic book that is put on the philosophy bookshelf of the library like other philosophical and academic books; it is an uncompromising youth Life Guide , a guide about life, about life, about learning, about education, it guides our lives with our own hands and is closely related to the lives of each of us. It is an important book that all young people who are still eager to understand themselves, understand the world, and want to create their own happy future should read the sooner the better. At this point, it can be said that it does what all humanities and arts books are supposed to do, but very few of them actually do.

The young people of our era get the most. In the school years, there are various requirements for grades, examinations, and further education, the requirements for cultivating various hobbies, the requirements for getting ahead and returning home, and the requirements from family to the whole world. Sounds like Hong Zhong's encouragement, urging and scolding. But what young people really need most in the process of growing up: a good mentor, a good guide for youth life, a kind of personality development in the world, these are really important things that most of us never get. In a confused way, he was admitted to university, in a confused way, graduated from a university, in a confused way to get a job and earn money, in a confused way in getting married and raising a family, in a confused state in a way of being exhausted, and in a confused way in getting old before age. Nietzsche's book is the scarcity of our life and the necessity of our life.

The second reason, because it is small, is the most ideal and effective way to the world of Nietzsche's thought . For great thinkers like Nietzsche, a small book, usually a long essay, is often our green passage into their world of thought. It is like the first draft of a great book, the content will be relatively shallow, and it will faithfully show the process of thinking, sorting, and adjusting their own thoughts. In this process, the contradictions of his thoughts, the struggles and ups and downs of his personality, are far more clear and closer than in the completed masterpiece. In this way, we seem to feel that there is a beginning and an end, a coming and going, clear and vivid. Moreover, his early thinking and writing will be natural in style and simpler in language. Like us, geniuses also have a mature process. Nietzsche's later "superhuman" philosophy, reconstruction of moral genealogy, revaluation of all values, and other more mature and systematic expressions are all bred in this book. Some have taken shape, some are still budding, some have withered, and some have changed. look. This is a living person, a living thought process—in other words, Nietzsche on his way to maturity.

The third reason is about Nietzsche's writing style. Everyone's impression of Nietzsche's writing style is very obvious, and he likes to use famous aphorisms. But in fact, this does not affect them as a coherent and tight logical whole. In fact, Nietzsche received specialized academic training and was hired as a professor of classics and literature in his twenties, and his work (with a few exceptions) is no less logical than the most rigorous scholars, and in unique ideas, Sincere and mighty passion, unparalleled literary talent and natural and beautiful musicality are unmatched, throwing them tens of thousands of miles away. When you read his books, you often feel that you don't know what is driving our thinking, his passion, his eloquent truth, or his sonorous words? Like the Yellow River entering the sea, they poured down in such a majestic and majestic way, hammering our hearts.

Brandess, the most famous European critic of the 19th century, described how he felt after reading Nietzsche: You are such a "non-professional" professor . For us now, we see too many academic papers that are constantly producing stable, boring language and claim to be themselves, many "academic authorities" built up by academic terms and proper names, and in so-called academic fandom circles. In addition to talking to himself, the "academic ecology" that does not care about the audience and has no audience at all may have been difficult to remember what a real scholar should do and what it should be like.

So the gossip is here, let's read this book together.

What is this book about?

The title of this book is "The Uses and Abuses of History", another translation is "The Advantages and Disadvantages of History for Life". Actually the latter is a more literal and accurate translation, but the former seems to be more generally accepted.

Just looking at the title, we can already see the two core meanings of the book: First, its foothold is definitely not history, but life, and the role and meaning of history to life. So yes, this book is not a non-human philosophical work, it is closely related to you, and me, and our daily life. Second, "use and abuse" is obviously a question about "degree", that is, degree, which means that it is not talking about a simple black and white right or wrong, picking sides, but a methodological issue. That is, how do we grasp this "degree". This is an extremely rare thinking training for young people who are prone to hot-headed and black and white. It is an education that is diametrically opposite to our ideological and political education. What it gives you is a method, a way to independently judge right and wrong. approach, not the right and wrong views themselves. Because history is not right or wrong, only people's attitudes and ways of using it are right or wrong .

Analysis of the book

We will first talk about the above two core meanings, and then talk about the "genius theory" that emerged in this book and was later developed by Nietzsche and became his consistent superhuman thought.

First, the relationship between history and life, or, in other words, history and human life

As mentioned earlier, Nietzsche’s focus is on the role of history in life, and the focus is on life rather than history. He categorically declared that life is higher than history, “Only on the premise that history serves life, can we serve history". How to understand this? We need to first understand what Nietzsche has to say about the relationship between history and life.

The book begins by comparing humans and animals. One of the biggest characteristics that distinguish humans from animals is that humans have history, that is, humans have memories. Animals are non-historical, each day is the same, all in the present tense. But people are different, people are historical, people are destined to have memories, and bear the burden of history. This is human beings. He goes on to argue that for the health of a person, a society, and a cultural system, both ahistorical and historical senses, forgetting and memory are equally necessary and need to be used simultaneously.

Thus, according to the way in which history serves the living, Nietzsche divides history into three categories: commemorative history, nostalgic history, and critical history. These three kinds of histories are neutral in themselves, and only correspond to the three needs of people; usually, a person and a nation use these three ways to understand history at the same time. But it is precisely because of this that any one or more of these methods, once used in excess, will bring disastrous consequences to individuals and the nation. We will discuss one by one below.

The first "history of remembrance" serves the actions and struggles of man, who draw strength and inspiration from the examples of the past. It is still possible today to produce even a few or dozens of heroes who raise their arms and revive our great civilization once again. In fact, we are inspired and inspired today by the achievements of our ancestors, the idea that we can do what they did, be as great as they were, and have a stronger culture. All belong to "memorial history". Because people believe that "great things have existed, and therefore are possible, and can be possible again".

In this "memorial history", people who want to take action, improve or even reform their own lives often need the encouragement of great examples; but once the power of example is too much, it will make us all rely on the power of action to history. At first glance there is nothing wrong with it, but in fact, (Nietzsche said) "the history of remembrance exists by false analogy. It uses tempting contrasts to encourage the brave to do the indiscreet and the zealous to do the fanatic." What What do you mean? When we draw analogies between historical figures and ourselves, between historical epochs and ours, we see some similarities, while consciously or unknowingly ignoring differences far greater than these: the epoch's Differences, different conceptual understandings, different contexts, different cultures, different personalities...especially when they happen not only at the individual level, but also at the national, national level, as we see with Hitler, Stalin The bitter lesson of this, because such a "false analogy" is purely intentional abuse.

Let's take a recent example. The current US President Trump is very keen to emphasize a slogan during his campaign and in office, "make amercia great again", or MAGA for short. At first glance, this slogan sounds exciting, and it is under this slogan that many workers at the bottom are united, because they believe that Trump will lead them back to the so-called "Golden Age", where the United States is full of gold, The American Dream era of factories, rumbling machines, and plentiful wallets. But in fact? As long as one learns a little more about history, one can see how empty and how dangerous an "analog" is. Everything has changed, our technology, our globalization, our economy, our culture, the direction we're heading in, have long since changed beyond recognition; and even back then, was that really a "gold" in our imaginations? Times", how many "dissatisfactions and deficiencies" that we choose not to see are happening under the surface of that gold, no one knows. But it is through such vague slogans that Trump and his team consciously emphasize the so-called "golden past" and "golden American dream" by covering up the vast difference between history and the present. ”, so that everyone can come together in this illusion. It turns out that everything contained in this American dream, Trump has not achieved during his tenure - and cannot be achieved because it is completely counterintuitive. But these advocates continue to revel in this beautiful and empty slogan, in the lies that politicians and those in power have crafted to them through the abuse of history.

So we have to be very careful, not only do snakes bite, but historical concepts can also bite us at any time when they are abused. Words like these that sound the most irritating—“great tradition,” “traditional culture,” “national rejuvenation,” etc.—are often venomous snakes in disguise, most likely to be abused, and most likely to be disguised as straw ropes. Appearing around us, we should always be vigilant.

The second type of "nostalgic history" serves people's conservatism and piety desires. People respect history and can feel the connection between the past and the future from history, immersed in this sense of history, and deeply feel that they are historical One link tends to uphold the old, old order and customs, nostalgic for the splendor of the old times, rather than innovations to contemporary life.

It is easy to understand the consequences of excessive use of nostalgic history, which is to go into complete retro and conservative, stifle all new efforts, and deny the meaning of modern innovation and creation. This kind of people who lament every day that they were born at the wrong time, that the new is not as good as the old, and that the new generation is not as good as the previous generation. This kind of person plunges into the so-called "classical culture", "traditional art" and "traditional ethics", and simply rejects everything in modern times. Those of us who are rude, boring, and violent are probably all around us. They are truly incompetent people who dare not face the new world, nor contribute to it, they are just constantly smothering the hope of the living, so that they can become as dead and as weak and timid as themselves. people, make sure they don't live healthier and more interesting lives than they do.

The third type of "critical history" serves people's pain and desire for liberation. For their own better survival and development, they criticize and abolish the parts of history that are not conducive to survival and development, transform their own lives, and create new ones. History in its own sense, that is, its own version of history, its own version of tradition, abandoning and overthrowing the original old history and old tradition. From every major reform and revolution in human history, to our daily actions of dissent and reformed against families, corporations, and old, unreasonable parts of society, it belongs to the history of criticism.

The serious consequences caused by the excess of "critical history" are not uncommon in human history. Especially in the major revolutions of changing dynasties, people in the process of overthrowing everything in the old world and establishing new rules and order, although sometimes achieve the purpose of eradicating the old and establishing the new, but often there will also be various forms of chaos and violence. , and the hijacking of revolutionary achievements, many of which eventually went backwards. For as Nietzsche said, "This...is a dangerous attempt, because it is difficult to find a limit to deny the past..."

What does that mean? That is, there is no problem in re-examining history, and there is no problem in criticizing history, but to what extent is criticism correct? How much of the old is removed and how much of the new is established? Who has the final say?

This inevitably requires a discussion of the use and abuse of history. Where is the line? What is the abuse of history? What consequences will it have? Also, who is abusing it? For it is clear that the misuse of history is by no means an accident, but deliberate, no matter who is behind it.

Nietzsche said, " History, as long as it serves life, serves a non-historical power, and therefore it can never be a pure science like mathematics. To what extent life needs such a service, it affects a person, One of the most serious problems of the health of a nation and a culture. ”

It is important to note here that Nietzsche made a very strict distinction between history and science, or more precisely, pure science. What does it mean? Nietzsche believes that history serves people, and it is because of this that history is necessary to exist. Therefore, according to the different needs of the people it serves at this moment, history is always changing, and unlike pure sciences such as mathematics, it follows the only true, static, and unchanging truth.

People can understand and use this history according to their actual needs, and when it falls into the hands of some people, it will become the manifestation of power and the actual execution of power. This history is written on paper and can be continuously reprinted, revised, and revised. It is the historical and cultural concept in the mainstream academic and political discourse, and the historical and cultural concept that we now write in textbooks and circulate in the mass media. , is the "history" we think we have the freedom to understand but are often only allowed to understand.

This may sound a bit advanced, but it's actually quite understandable. Just to cite a few examples: For example, the national hero Yue Fei's fight against the Jin Dynasty invaders was changed to a patriotic general Yue Fei who fought against the Jin Dynasty's army. It is not that there was anything wrong with the fact that Yue Fei fought against the Jin Dynasty at that time. People have no objection to this; the objection lies in this time. What is the nature of the war, who are the two sides of the war, and who should justice be attributed to these historical value judgments. These value judgments change from time to time, even in our own time, twice in just a few decades, and once it's written in textbooks, it's the only real thing most of us learn. "history". There are many similar examples. For example, the same event in different regions, cultures, and political types can be defined and evaluated completely differently. The memory and writing of our war against Japan are different from Japanese textbooks and even American textbooks. The memory and writing of the same war are completely different; another example is a book of modern Chinese history. In the past 100 years of stumbling, the history written at different times and the evaluation of the characters have no idea how many different viewpoints there are.

In short, although each of us has the right to understand and use history with our own needs as the center, so as to serve our real life needs, in actual life, most of our understanding of history has been given. Because political, academic, and other groups will fight for the right to understand and interpret history to serve their temporal needs. This is exactly what Nietzsche meant when he called "history, insofar as it serves life, it serves an ahistorical power." And these "non-historical powers" often abuse history, including distorting, rewriting, and stealing concepts to better serve their purposes; the one that wins in many power struggles will put its own commitment to history. understanding, canonized and institutionalized with authoritative discourse. In this way history becomes a completed knowledge, a single fact and truth, distributed in an artful way to everyone by education, propaganda and decree.

This is what Nietzsche refers to as "science" that must be strictly distinguished from history, which holds that " there is only one way of looking at things that is true, correct, and therefore scientific. Things are seen as finished, historical, not ongoing, eternal." It means that the "science" here is not just the natural science we understand now, but an all-encompassing scientific discourse, a tool and methodology for understanding all knowledge and all phenomena. In short, not only look at the natural sciences with the concept of pure science, but see everything in human society with the same concept.

Turning history into pure science, into an authoritative scientific discourse that is no longer changed by people's lives, but guides life from above. Another much louder name for this scientific discourse is "truth". That is to say, everyone should guide and use history according to their own needs in life, but now, history has transformed into an absolute science, absolute truth, to guide everyone's life, to give what is right and what is wrong, And continue to expand and strengthen their position in people's lives. This is the abuse of history, this is the excess of history .

From here, we have seen the origin of Nietzsche's later approach to the "will to power" theory, which we cannot discuss here for the time being, but after reading this book, you will be very clear why the relationship between knowledge and power has always been Be at the center of discussions of Nietzsche, including later Foucault . The impact of these discussions on our modern society is decisive, and they have not only not dissipated now, but have spread to every aspect of human life, from history, art to medicine, and society, and become the development direction of almost every discipline. Because in modern society, knowledge is never neutral and objective, there is no so-called pure scientific knowledge, just like we can't find an objective definition of "madness", it is far more than a medical problem, it is a variety of power The scene of the discourse battle, the core of this power struggle, is who will define "what is madness" and turn it into a universal definition that will be imposed on everyone. The so-called "scholarly conclusions" we finally hear are nothing more than victory cheers from the victorious side.

Of course, it is no accident that Nietzsche took aim at the discourse of scientism; he was living in that era. It was an era when modern science was developing rapidly, and it was ambitious to enter the field of humanities and then rule the world. Nietzsche's article was inspired by it, so we can see that he always put literature and art on the opposite side of science. Discuss the correct use of history by people, because people's will to live and people's active intervention are always shining in literature and art. But unfortunately, such a context has not disappeared, but has intensified. In Nietzsche's era, the discourse of scientism was only gradually eroding; but now it has been practically completed with the help of the soaring Internet technology. complete domination of the human world.

In modern society, as an individual, it is a Quixotic tragedy to be one's own legislator, to understand history with me as the main force, to fight against the ubiquitous discourse of scientism, and against the powers who interpret history. But the more this is the case, the more we must read Nietzsche's book, because if we give up completely, even the last Don Quixote will be lost, people will lose the meaning of existence, and history will die because of rigidity- Because history is really nothing but something that serves life. If there is no hope and enthusiasm for the present and the future, people will no longer need life, and naturally, history will no longer be needed.

The next episode of this show will be online on December 21 (next Monday). Looking forward to continuing our discussion of this wonderful booklet by Nietzsche on the next reading day, and as usual, we will release the transcript two days after the Podcast goes live.

If you have any questions about this book, please leave us a message on the substack page of "Reading the Day" and we will reply to you, or try to cover related topics in the next episode. Subscribing to e-mails on the site is the best way to get all the content of Reading Ritual, including podcasts, long articles in the humanities, and some short essays.