He saw himself as a complete diversion from all that had gone before. In BGAE he constantly talks of the "free spirit" or "new philosopher" who he sees himself as one of the first examples of. He considers that no one before him had really pointed out the inherent subjectivity of many philosophies, and the link between the philosopher and his philosophy. So, this is the real shift that he sees himself as bringing about: becoming aware of our values, we can begin to mould and choose them (to a certain extent - there are always some hidden values).
A somewhat eccentric account of his own intellectual development, and a view of his own significance, can be found in his "Ecce Homo".
