One prominent example is Jean-Jacques Rousseau who advanced a universalist vision in his 1755 work Discourse on Inequality which argued that all people shared the same natural rights regardless of national origin or class. His ideas were further developed by Immanuel Kant whose writings proposed that humans must act out of duty rather than personal self-interest so as to achieve moral progress for all mankind. These concepts challenged prevailing systems based on hereditary privilege and monarchical authority whilst advocating ideals such as liberty, equality and fraternity as part of a new social contract between citizens . In contrast , other writers saw nationhood as crucial for individuals seeking political stability . In particular , Johann Gottfried Herder met widespread acclaim with his arguments that language shaped national consciousness since it was understood differently depending upon geographical location . While he rejected racism he still believed each nation had special characteristics that differentiated them from other civilizations . Thus , he introduced terms such as Volksgeist or ‘spirit of the people’ in order to describe differences between countries within Europe – even if they shared similar languages or cultural traits. Ultimately these debates laid down foundations for modern conceptions about European civilization and identity during this period. Ideas like human rights , collective responsibility towards fellow man , patriotism centered around shared experiences (rather than monarchy) become increasingly important during this period . Moreover - emerging liberalism offered different view off respectability compared against aristocratic elite at time - thus expanding existing notion off citizenship

Sample Solution

During the 18th and 19th centuries, European societies were in a period of intense intellectual debate surrounding the nature of their civilization and identity. This was largely driven by the Enlightenment which had inspired a questioning of traditional beliefs and attitudes towards society, politics and culture. It also had an impact on Europe’s colonial powers who sought to spread their version of ‘civilization’ across its colonies while also distinguishing themselves from non-European cultures. This led to debates about what constituted European identity, with many intellectuals arguing for universalism or cosmopolitanism as opposed to nationalism.