 On the other hand, Alexander of Aphrodisias can also be a stumbling block for integrating Aristotle into the Platonic tradition. This is reflected in several passages where Simplicius remarks on Alexander’s way of explaining Aristotle and, more specifically, his attitude towards Plato. For while Simplicius as a rule tries to explain away critical remarks that Aristotle aimed at his teacher, for instance, via the distinction between the superficial meaning of a text (lexis, to phainomenon) and its real purpose (dianoia, nous), Alexander always sides with Aristotle against Plato: