In "Theses on the Philosophy of History" and other works, German philosopher Walter Benjamin (1892-1940) proposed that a philosophy of history need not incorporate a belief in the necessity of progress. He provided constructive insights for those engaged in epistemological reflection, but the validity of his implicit argument for a negative philosophy of history is questionable, partly because it is based on presuppositions concerning the nature of the historical process that are not supported by empirical evidence.