On the Advantage and Disadvantage of History for Life is an essay by Friedrich Nietzsche published as part of his Untimely Meditation in 1874. The essay is a definitively modernist argument against a politically motivated retelling of the events of the Franco-Prussian war that had occured only a few years before. It's modernist in its attempt to dissuade the reader from trusting historical narratives, calling for a rational, forward oriented worldview.
Nietzsche's frustrations seem to be rooted in the education of youth, namely the way history curricula had begun to shape a nationalistic identity and solidarity among the German youth. He expresses a paranoia about the future of a people who are indoctrinated into a historical narrative that may be loaded with political agendas. This is likely a reaction to the dominant narratives about Germany's role in the Franco-Prussian war.
The essay serves the broader purpose of calling the reader to look forward and depend little to none on the past. This is radically different from classical philosophy which draws extensively on the past. Nietzsche urges his audience to move past this limiting perspective, urging on an age of unhistorical living. These ideas are fundamental in understanding the philosophy of the 20th century, setting the tone for skepticism and disintergration after the Great War and WWII.
