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1 enealogyi s gray, meticulous, andpatientlydocumentary.
lt operates on a field of entangled and confused parchments,
ondocumentsthathaebeenscratchedoverandrecopiedmany
time
n ti basis, it i s obvious tht aul ee was wrong to
followthenglishtenencyindescribingthehistoryofmorality
in terms of a lineardevelopmentin reducing its entire histo
andgenesitoanexclsiveconcernforutility. eassmedthat
words had kept their meaning, that desires still pointed in a
single direction, and tat ideas retained their logic and he ig-
nored the fact that theworld ofspeech and desires has known
invaions, uggles, plundering, disguises, ploys. rom these
elements, however, genealogy retrieves an indipensable re
straint it must record the singularity ofeventsoutside of any
monotonousfinalityitmustseektheminthemostunpromisng
places, inwhtwetendtofeeliswithouthistoryinsentiments,
love, conscience, instincts it must be sensitive to their recur-
rence, notinorderto trace thegradualcurveoftheirevolution,
but to isolate the dilferent cenes where they engaged in dif-
ferent roles . inally, enealogy must define even those in-
stanceswhentheyareabsent,themomentwhentheyremained
nrealized lato, at yracuse, did notbecomeohammed
enealogy, conseguently, reguires patience and a knowl-
edgeofdetails, andit depends onavataccumulationofsorce
ThisessaytirstappearedinHcmmcgeecnHypc|||e[aris Fresses
niversitaires deFrance I97I), pp. I42 A|ong with 'Rponse au
cerc|ed pistmo|ogie whichbecae theintroductochapterof!|e
rc|cec|c c] Kncu|eJgc, this essay represents Foucau|t's attempt to
epain his reationship o those sources which are tudametatohis
deve|opment . Its importance, in terms of understanding Foucaut s
b ectives, canotbe eggerated Itisreproducedherebypermission
fFresse niversitaires deFrance
/6
N|e|zsc|c, Cenes|cg, H|s|c 7
materia Its cyclopean monuments are constucted lom
discreetandAp arentyinsignificanttruthsandaccordigto
goros metho they cannt be the product ol arge an
welmeaning rors. nshot, geneaogydemandsreentes s
eudition. eneaogy does not oppose itse t ohistory as the
olty ad prolond ga ol the philosopher might compare to
themoeikeperspectiveofthschoaronthectrary itre ects
themetahistorica depoymentofidea sinilicationsandindel
inite teeologies Itopposesitself to the seach lor origins.
Z I ietsche, we findtwo useof the word Utsprung. 1e
first is nstressed, and itis lund aternately ith other ers
such asn|s|e|ung, Hcr|un]|, A||un]|, Cc|ur|. In |c cncc|cgy
cs, for example, n|s|c|ug o Ursprng serves eguay
wel to denote the origin ofduty orguity conscience and in
the discussion togic andknowledge in I|cCcy Sc|cnc, their
originisindisciminatelyreferredtoas Ursprung, n|s|cung, or
Hcr|un]|
eoteruseol thewodi s stressed. noccasion,iesche
places te term in oppostion to another. inthe firstparagaph
olHumcn,A||IccHumcnthemiacuousginlunJcrursprung)
sought y metaphysics is set against the anayses ol historical
phiosophy, which poses estions |cr Hcr|un| unJ Ancng
Urspren is aso sed n an ironic and deceptive manner In
what,linstance, do we findthe orinal basis rsptung) ol
moraity, a foundation soughtfte sincelato` Indetestable,
narowinded concusions. PuJcnJ |g. r in a reated
context,wheeshoudweseekth riginofreigion Ursptung,
which chopenhauer ocated a paucua metaphsica sen-
timentoftheherealter Itbeongs,veysimpy, toaninention
r]|nJuog) , a seightolhand, an artfice Kuns|s|c|) , a secret
lormula in the ritas ol back magic, in the work ol the
Sc|cr|ns||cr
neol the mostsignilicanttextswithrespecttothe useol
a these terms andto the variations i nthe use of Ursprung i s
the prelace t o the Ccncc|cy. At the beginning of the txt, its
ob ective is delined as an eamination ol the origin ol mora
preconceptionsandthetemusedisHcrun| 1hen, ietsche
proceedsby retracing his pesonainvolvementwith this ues
o ru||cnJc||cJ
tion he recallsthe period when hecaigraphied philosophy,
when he uestioned if od must be held responsible for the
originofevil . enowfindsthisguestionamusingandproperly
characteriesit as a search lor Ursprung he will shortly use the
same term to sumarie aul ees activi) urther on, he
evokes the analyses that are characteristically ietzschean and
that begin with Humcn, A|| Tcc Humcn. ere, he speaks of
Hcr|un||ypc||cscn 1his use of the word Hcr|un]| canot be
arbitrary, since it sees to desgnate a number of texts, begin
ning with Humsn, A|| 100 Humcn, which deal with theorigin of
orty, asceticism, ustice, and punshment. d yet the word
usedinatheseworks had been Ursprung. twould seem that
at this point in the Ccncc|cgy ietsche wished to validate an
oppositionbetweenHcr|un]| and Ursprung thatdidnoteistten
yearsearlier. utimmediateyfollowingtheuseofthetwoterms
in a specilic sense, ietzsche reverts , in thefinalparagraphsol
the preface, toa usage that isneutra and euivalent .
hydoesietschechalenge the pursuitolthe origin Ur-
sprung) , at east on those occasions when he is truly a genea-
ogist` irst,becauseitisanattempttocapturetheeactessence
ofthings, theirpurestpossibilities, andtheircarelullyprotected
identitiesbecausethissearcassuestheexistenceolimmobie
formsthatprecedetheexternalworldolaccidentandsccession
This search is directed to that which was already there, the
image of a priordial truth lully adeguate to its nare, and it
necessitatestheremovaoleverymasktoultimatelydiscosean
originaidenti. owever, ilthe geneaogistrelusesto etend
is faith in metaphysics, il he listens t history, he linds that
there is something atogether diflerent behind things not a
timeless and essentia secret, but the secret that they have o
essenceorthattheiressencewaslabricatedina piecemeallas-
ionfromaienfors . xainingthehistoryofreason,hel earns
that it was born in an altogether reasonable fashionfro
chance devotion to truth and the precisio of scientific meth-
ods arose from the passion olscholars, theirreciprocalhatred,
thefanaicalandunendingdiscussios,andtheirspiritofcom
petitionthe personalconflicts thatslowlyforged theweapons
ol reason. urther, genealogical analysis shows that the con
cept ofliberty is a invention of the ruling classes and not
f
N/c|zsc|c, L?n00|0@, !5/0Q '
fundamentaltoman s nature oratthe root ol his attachmentto
being and trut. hat is lound at the historicabeginning of
things is not theinvioabeidentity oftheir origi itis the dis-
sension ofother things. It is disparity
istory asoteaches how to laugh at the somnities olte
rigin. 1he lofty ogin is nomore than a metahsicaleten-
sicn which arises fromthe beliefthat things are ost precios
andessential atthe mcmentofbirth e tendto tinkthat
thsisthemomentofthegreatestprfeon,whetheyemerged
dazzling from the hands ola creator r in the sadowesslight
olalirstmorning. 1heoriginalwasprecedesthall Itcomes
betorethebody, beloretheworldandtimeitisa ssociatedwith
the gods, and its story is always sngas a theogony uthis-
torical beginnings are owly. notin the sense ol dest or dis-
creet like the steps of a dove, but derisive and ionic, capable
ofundoingeveryinfatuation Wewishedtoawakenthefeeling
of man s sovereignty by showing his divine birth. this path is
nowforbidden, sinceamonkey standsattheentrance. an
originatedwithagrimaceoverhisltredeveopmentandar-
athustra himself is paguedby a mnkey who psalongbe-
hind him, pulingon his coattails.
1helinalpostuate ofthe originislinked to thelirst t
oin
being the site ol trth. From the vantage point ot an absolute
distance, free from the restraints of positive knowledge, the
originmakespossible a fiedolknowledge whos functionisto
recover it, but always in a flserecognitiondue 5 the ecesses
ofits own spech. 1heorigin lies at
a paceolinevitable oss,
the pointwherethe truth olthings corresponde tc a truthfu
discourse, the site of a lleeting articuation that discourse has
obscured and finally ost . It is a new cruelty 5 history that
compels a reversalolthis relationship and the abandcnmentof
adolescent gests behind the always recent, aaricicus, and
measured truth, it posits the ancient proliferation of errcrs
is no impossible to believe that in the rending of the veil ,
truh remains truthtul we have lived ong enogh not to be
taken in Truth is undoubtedly the sortoterror that cannct
be retuted because it washardenedinto anunalterable formin
the longbaking prccess ofhistory. oreover, thevery gues
tiontruth, therightitapprcpriatestorefuteerrorandoppcse
oJ ru|h 05&
tselftoaparance, the mannerinwhichitdevelopedinitially
made aailable o the wise, thenwihdrawn by menofpiety to
an unattai nable world where it was given the double role of
consolaionandimperative, finally reected as a useless notion,
superfluos and contradicted on all sides)does this not form
a history, te history of an error we call truth` 1ruth, and its
original reign, has had a history within history from whichwe
arebarelyeeginginthetimoftheshortesshadow, when
light no longer seems to flow trom the depths of the sky or to
arise from te first moments ofthe day.
Agenealoyofvalues,morali,asceticism,andknowledge
will never confuse itself with a guest for their origins, will
never neglect as inaccessible hevicissitdesofhistory. nthe
contrary, twll cultivate the deails and accidentshat accom-
pany evebeginning itwillbe scrupulusly attentive to their
petty malice it will await their emergence, once umasked, as
the face of he other. Wherever it is made to go, itwill notbe
reticentin excavating thedepths, inallowingmeforthese
elements to escap fom a labyrinth where no truth had ever
detainedthem. 1he enealogist needs history to dispel thechi-
meras ofthe origin, somewhatin he manner ofthe pious hi-
losopherwho needs a doctortoexorcisetheshadowofhissoul .
e must be able to recognize the events ofhistoy, its olts, its
surprises, its unsteady victories and unpalatabe defeatsthe
basis of all beginnins, atavisms, and heredities . Similarly, he
mustbeable todiagnoseheillnessesofthebody, its conditions
ot weakness and srength, its breakdowns and resistances, to
beina positiontoudge philosophicaldiscourse. istoy isthe
concrete bodota development, withits moments ofintensity,
itsapses, its exendedperiods offeverish agitaion is faining
spells and only a meaphysician would seekissoul in the dis
tant ideali of the origin.
J. ln|s|e|n and e|o[| are more exact han spog in
recording the true ob ective of genealogy and, while the are
ordinariltranslatedasorigin we mustatempttoreestablish
their properse.
c|[|isthe euivalentofstockorJesceo|iis he ancient
affiliationtoagroup, sustainedbythebondsofblood, radition,
f
l0/256h0, L0h000
, l5f0Q ' l
orsocialclass. 1heanaysis ofHcr|uo(| often ivles a onsd
eration of race or socal type ut th traits t attepts to
idetif are not the exclusivegenericcharacteristis of n nd
vidual, a sentment, oranidea, which permitustuailythem
as reek or nglish rather, it seeks the subtle, singulr,
and ubindvidual marks thatmight possibly intersect i nthem
toform network thats diffcult to nravel . ar lrom beinga
category of resemblance, this ogin alows the srtng ot o
different traits the ermans imagned that theyhdfinally
countedfor their compexitybsayingtheyossesseda double
soul theywerefooledbya smplecomputatio,rrather they
weresimplyyingtomastertheracaldisorderfrmwhihthey
had formed themselves. here the soul pretendsnicaon
ortheselffabcatesacoherentidentity, thegenelostsetsut
to study the begnnng
th rbeing des
not lie at the root of what we know and what weare but the
exteriorofaccidents. 1hsisundoubtedlwheeorigin
ofmoralifromthemomenttstopsbengpiosandc|un(|
ca neverbehas value as a criue
Z !ru|| 0n0 c|h00
erivingfosuch a source is a dangerouslegacy ln nu-
merous instances, ietzsche associates the ters Hcr|un| and
rlsc|s| . evetheless, weshouldnotbedeceiedintothinking
that this hetageis anacuisition, a possession that grows and
solidifiesrather, itisanunstableassemblageoffaults, tissures,
andeterogeneouslayersthatthreatenthefragileinheritorfrom
withinortromunderneat in usticeorinstabilityintheminds
ofcertain en, their disorder and lackof decorum arethefinal
conseuencesoftheirancestorsnuberlessogicalinaccuracies,
hastyconclusions, andsuperficiality. 1esearchfordescent
is not the erecting of foundaions on the contrary, it disturbs
what was previously considered immobie it fragments what
was thought unifid it shows the heterogeneity of what was
imagined consistentwithitself. Whatconvictions and, farore
decisively, whatknowledgecanresistit lfa genealogicaanal-
ysis ota scholarwere madeofonewho collectsfactsandcare
fullyaccountstorthemhisHcr|un| woulduicklydivulgethe
otticial papers of the scribe and the pleadings of te lawyer
their tatherin theirapparentlydisinterestedattention, in the
pure devotion to ob ectivity
inally, descent attaches itselt to the body lt inscribes
itself in the nervous system, in temperament, in the digestive
apparatus itappearsn taulty respiration in impopediets in
the debilitated and rostrate bodies of tose wose ancestors
coederrors. atheshaeonlyto stakeeftectstorcauses,
believe in the reality ot an afterlite, or maintain the vaue ot
eternaltruths,andthebodiesoftheirchildrenwillsuffer ow
ardice and ypocrisy, fortheirpart, are thesimple ottshoots ot
error not in a Socratic sense, not hat evi is te result of a
mistake, notbecause of a turning away from an original ruth,
butecause the bodymaintains, in lifeasin death, throug its
strength or weakness, the sanction ofevery truthand error, as
itsustains,inaninversemanner, theorigindescent Whydid
men invent the conteplative life` Why give a supreme value
to this torm of existence Why maintain the absolute truth of
those fictions which sustain it uring barbarous ages . . if
the strength ofanindividualdeclined, ifhefelthimselftiredor
sick, elanholy or satiated and, as a conseuence without
desire orappetite fora shorttime, he became relativelya better
N|e|zsc|e, Cnec|c, H/s|c
man, tat is, ess dangerous. is pessimistic ideas ony tae
form a words or reflections In this frame ofmind, he eite
became a thinker and prophet or used his imagination to feed
hissuperstitions 1hebodyandeerythingthattouchesit
diet, climate, and
alysis Whydidit
not continue as a form of demogogic or religious knowledge
Mow coud it cange roles on the same stage` nly by being
seized, dominated, and urned against its birth. And itis this
movemet which properly describes the specific nature of the
/n|s|cnng: itis notthe unavoidabe conclusion ofa ong prep
|e|zsc|e, Cenec|c, Hs|c
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.
rI cnMc||ad
the genelogist, will kow what to make of this masguerade
Mewill ot be too serious to en oy it on thecontrary, he wil
ush the masguerade to its limit and prepare the greatcarnival
oftimehere masksareconstantlyreappearing olongerthe
identification of our faint individuality with the solid identities
ofthepat,butourunrealizationthroughtheexcessivechoice
ofideneFreerickofMohenstaufen,aes,esus,ionysus,
and possibly arathustra. aking upthese masks, revitalizing
the buffoonery ofhistory, we adoptanidentity whose unreaity
surpasses that ofod, who started the charade. erhaps, we
can discovera realm where originality is again possible as par-
odists of history andbuffoonsofod nthis, werecognize
teparoicdoubleofwhatthesecondoftheUn||mc|y McJ||c||cns
called monumental history d history given to reestablisng
thehigh points ofhistoricaldevelopmentandtheirmaintenance
ina perpetualpresence,givenotherecoveryofworks, actions,
andcreationsthroughthemonogramoftheirpersonalesence.
utin , ietzsche accusedthishistory, one totally devoted
to veneration, of barring access to the actual intensities and
creationsoflife. heparodyofhislasttextsservestoemphasize
thatmonumentalhistory isitselfa parody. enealogyishis-
tory i n the form ofa concerted carnival .
he second use of history is the systematic dissociation of
identity his is necessar because this rather weak identi
which we attempt to support and to unify under a mask, isin
itself only a parody. it is plural countl ess spits dispute its
possession numeroussystemsintersectandcompete he study
ofhistorymakesone happy,unlikethemetaphysicians,topos-
sess in oneself notan immortal soulbut many mort ones.
And in each of these sous, history will notdiscovera forgotten
identity, eager to be reborn, but a compex system of distinct
and multipleelements, unabletobe masteredby the powersf
synthesis. tisa signofsuperiorculturetomaintain, ina fully
consciousway, certainphasesofitsevolutionwhichlessermen
pass through witho
.
MiC!zscRC, Ccnec|cgy, I, sec. 2.
' Metzsche, 8eycnd CccJ cndL0l|, Do. 20, SCC a|so Ccnec|0gy, I I sec
2.
Mietzsche, hcnderer, no. 9.
Metzsche, Ccy Sc|ence, no .
elZsce, Ccncc|cgy, II, no. .
Metzsche, Ccncc|og, Frelace, sec. Z, andI, se 2 8eycd ccd cnJ
t||, no. 224.
Mtzsce, Ccy bclentc, no
d.
Metzsche, Ccncc|cgy, II, sCct 2.
Metzsce, Dcun, no. 3O.
*' Metzsche, Ccncc|cgy, I, . 2.
` Metzsche, Humcn A| | !cc Hucn, no. o
` C!zschC, !u|||g||c] n. 4
Metsche, Reason n Fhi|osophy 1ui||_|| c]Jc|s, nos. , 4.
MCtzsche, hcnderer, no. bb (J Tis conCepUOD uder|es th
taskofFoucau|t sMcdnes5 cnJC|i|ic|icnand!|c8ir||c]||eC/|n!c even
though l S notfoundasa consciousforu|aonUD! |e Arc|ccc|cgy
aj Kncu|cgc
ClZSCHC, Ccy ciencc,DO. JJZ
C!ZSCHC, Ccncc|cgy, III, SCC. 2o
C!ZsChC, 8eycndCccJcnJ L0!|, no. 223.
' Me!zsChe, 0nJ0r0r [ LQDODS DG wXCG D!!CmCHl5) , o IZ
CtzsChe, Humcn A| | !cc umcn, no. 2Z1.
F. . etzsche, Ln|/me|yMcJ||c||cns 8Z3-), D Cc|e|ecrs, II,
no. J.
JJ ru| cnc Mc||cd
Cf M etzschesDcun, nos. 429,4J2,CcySc|cncc,no JJJ,8cycndCccJ
nd t||, nos 229O.
d he Frenc phrasetcu|c|r-sctc|r meansboththewi|| to know|
edge and know|edge as reenge.
Mietsce, Dcun, no.
mi.
Mietsche, 8cycnd Cccd cnd t||, no. J9.
Mietzsche, Dcun, no. 45.