  In the mid-11th to early 12th centuries, there is a significant development from the widely humanistic character of Photios’ and Arethas’ interests towards a new understanding of the philosophical enterprise. The philosopher is now regarded as someone with a hard-earned knowledge in all branches of learning, who forms his own views on the philosophical topics discussed by the ancients, and moreover as someone who is interested in applying the philosophical categories to various problems in theology or in everyday affairs.