On the ethos of archivists

U radu se pokušala izvidjeti mogućnost utemeljenja arhivističkog ethosa s obzirom na značaj arhivskog gradiva kao kulturnoga dobra ili kao "svjedočanstva prošlosti" (čl. 1. Etičkog kodeksa arhivista). Ono prošlo (historijsko) se u kontekstu rada tumači kao nužni moment za identitet pojedinca, naroda i kulture, a kao ishodište umačenju koristi se Nietzscheov spis "O koristi i štetnosti historije za život". U tu svrhu poduzima se kratak osvrt na antičko (grčko) shvaćanje onog etičkog kao jedinstva prirode (fysis) i zakona (nomos) i na novovjekovno shvaćanje (Kant) autonomnosti moralnog subjekta. Kao centralni problem etike ispostavilo se pitanje razdvoja principa moraliteta i legaliteta. Zatim se daje pregled nekoliko glavnih momenata Nietzscheovog spisa s osvrtom na pojmove monumentalne, antikvarne i kritičke vrste historije. U kontekstu rada povijest se shvaća kao umijeće posredovanja kontinuiteta života koji sebe samog stvara, održava i preoblikuje na onom individualnom, tj. na pojedincu. Arhivist kao djelatnik antikvarne i u određenoj mjeri kritičke historije, tj. kao skrbnik i vrednovatelj, stoji u službi održavanja individualiteta naroda i njegove kulture (zajednice), te nastoji dati pravu mjeru sadržaja onog historijskog.Paper deals with a possibility of founding ethos of archivists, regarding significance of archives as cultural welfare, or as „a memory of the past“ (Ethical Code of archivists, art. 1). Characterization of archives as „a memory of the past“ is not clear enough. Such provision doesn\u27t make clear is it about the essential in the past of certain community or is the past assumed as a general history of the mankind. Theoretical queries in foundation of criteria for evaluation of materials worth to be preserved open questions on the purpose of preservation of archival heritage. In the context of the paper, the past (historical) is interpreted as an element necessary for identities of individuals, people, and culture. Nietzsche\u27s text About Advantage and Disadvantage of History for Life was taken as a starting point for such approach. With that purpose a short overview of antic (Greek) understanding of ethical as a unity of nature (fysis) and law (nomos) is given, same as an overview of Kant\u27s autonomy of moral subject. As a central problem of ethics emerges issue of dichotomy between principles of morality and legality. Afterwards an overview of main accents of Nietzsche\u27s study is presented, regarding notions of monumental, antiquarian, and critical history. Since the ethos of archivists is related to keeping things from the past, Nietzsche\u27s understanding of history is considered, on the background of his critics of morality. Believing into subject, who exists before doing, is for Nietzsche a key moment for dispute with traditional morality, since he recognizes in that possibility for the split emerging between thinking and doing. He understands an individuum as a final product of life which keeps continuum of life through permanent evaluation and re-evaluation of itself. Life itself exists as a will to power. Man is related to the past by his memories. From harmonized relation between historical (ability of memorizing) and un-historical (ability of forgetting) rise existence and continuation of the individual, while overcoming one historical power by another necessarily leads to illness, degradation, and disappearance. In the context of the paper, history is understood as a skill of intermediation of life\u27s continuity, in the sense in which life creates itself, keeping and redesigning itself on the individual level. Archivist, as an employee of antiquarian history, but also, in the certain sense, of critical history, i.e. as a keeper and evaluator, is in the service of preservation of people\u27s individuality and culture, trying to give real measure to the content of the historical. Archivist understood in the higher sense is not only an identity keeper of a people/a nation and its culture, but, in fact, is a keeper of truth on lifeness of life treated as a truth for itself