Nietzsche’s Genealogy in Its Relation to History and Philosophy

Abstract

Nietzsche’s sparse remarks on genealogy have left open significant questions as to what it is and where it stands in relation to philology, history, critique, and philosophy. By tracing Nietzsche’s associated conceptions of philology; critical, monumental, and antiquarian history; genesis; and Entstehungsgeschichte; as well as his genealogical practices, I show that, with certain key limitations, Nietzschean genealogy emerges from out of the synthesis of critical, monumental, and antiquarian history for the purposes of life that Nietzsche develops in On the Use and Disadvantage of History for Life. The importance of this practice lies in the fact that, at various times, it appears to be a part, a precondition, or even the totality of philosophy.