Nietzsche's "On the Genealogy of Morals" (the second treatise especially)

“To breed an animal that is permitted to promise-isn't this precisely the paradoxical task nature has set for itself with regard to man? isn't this the true problem of man?”

So begins the second treatise of Nietzsche's On the Genealogy of Morals, entitled "Guilt," "Bad Conscience" and related Matters. The text brings up a whole array of extremely interesting issues related to our culture and especially to the idealism that so defines our society and few writings offer so much hope for the future. Nietzsche looks at how the relationship between the promise that the individual who borrows makes to the person he or she lends from and how this forms the foundation for the structure of our lives. If there is one text that you should read (or re-read) this summer, I suggest you choose this one. You can download the second treatise here.