Alexander of Aphrodisias in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance

The greatest ancient interpreter of Aristotle, Alexander of Aphrodisias (fl. 200 AD) exerted a profound and enduring influence upon philosophy that extended from Boethius until the modern era. Alexander’s interpretations laid the foundation for multiple philosophical views which were promoted as quintessentially Aristotelian by both Islamic and Latin thinkers throughout the Middle Ages. In the Renaissance, the University of Padua, a leading center of philosophical education and thought, established a scholarly tradition named Alexandrinism after him.