Aristotle and Aristotelianism

Aristotle’s teachings profoundly influenced natural philosophy from his own time up to the early modern period. A number of his philosophical positions—regarding the eternity of the universe, the human soul, and God’s role in governing the world—were at odds with fundamental doctrines of monotheistic religions. Nevertheless, Islamic, Jewish, and Christian philosophers attempted to reconcile his philosophy with their religions. During the Middle Ages, despite several condemnations of Aristotelian works and positions, Christian philosophers and theologians alike used Aristotle’s views to answer questions about nature and the divine. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the Catholic Church reaffirmed Aristotle’s authority in the face of challenges posed by the new sciences. In response, some thinkers, associated with the scientific revolution and influenced by humanism, emphasized the differences between Aristotle’s thought and Christianity. Nevertheless, Aristotelian concepts, as developed in medieval and Renaissance universities, formed the starting point for early modern investigations into nature.