  Robert Bernasconi has traced this idea back to the philosophy of Johann Gottfried von Herder who wrote Ideas on the Philosophy of the History of Humankind (1784). Herder (against Immanuel Kant) actually “rejected the division of humanity into races and insisted that a division into peoples is more appropriate” (Bernasconi 2000, 23).  Herder argued that each group of peoples has a unique and important contribution to make to civilization. Going against prevailing 18th century ideas about civilization and race, Herder asserted that the Negro is a human and not an animal. He adds, “You should not oppress him, nor murder him, nor steal from him: for he is a human being just as you are…” (Bernasconi 2000, 26).