or centuries, the worldview of a single man was considered an essential point of reference for the Church and theologians. Dante called him "the master of those who know." It was customary to cite his authority without even naming him directly, so obvious was the person being referred to. To demonstrate the validity of a statement, it was sufficient to state that he had said it, "ipse dixit." There was only one small detail: the man who had had such an influence on the Christian world had never even heard of Christianity.

Aristotle was rediscovered in Europe only in the 11th century, thanks to translations from Arabic. In the nascent European universities, particularly the Sorbonne, his writings began to fascinate intellectuals. Albertus Magnus and Thomas Aquinas attempted to reconcile their thoughts with Christian thought. Thomas, in particular, believed that, before Jesus Christ, Aristotle was the man who best understood the world, and in demonstrating the existence of God, he drew heavily on Aristotle's own arguments.

Despite the condemnation in 1277 of certain Aristotelian propositions deemed incompatible with divine omnipotence, throughout the Middle Ages and well into the modern era, Aristotelianism remained the foundation of Christian philosophy, especially regarding the structure of the cosmos and the physical world. Indeed, it is strongly present in Dante, who used Aristotle's heavens and stars, both moving and fixed, to describe the world of the Divine Comedy. In the Comedy, Dante also included the philosopher among the great spirits of limbo, those historical figures who died without receiving baptism.

Later, however, humanists discovered that Greek knowledge included not only Aristotle but also Plato, Pythagoras, Aristarchus of Samos, and many others. Some Protestant reformers also argued that it was unwise for the Church to grant such authority to a pagan thinker. Subsequently, Aristotle's universe, based on geocentrism and the distinction between the sublunary, imperfect, and corruptible world and the celestial, perfect, and immutable world, was criticised by Copernicus and Galileo. The latter attempted to convince Aristotelians that simply reading and commenting on the works of the "Prince of Current Philosophy" was not enough to engage in philosophy. Galileo, referring to the young age at which students were taught Aristotelianism, defined it as an "opinion steeped in milk."