  The dialogue proper begins to unfold only after the king, upon realizing in his dream that he must try to find out what actions are truly pleasing to God, turns to a philosopher and asks him about his beliefs. Why he seeks out the philosopher first and focuses specifically on his beliefs as opposed to his knowledge or his actions is not explained, although it is plausible to suppose that the nature of the king's invitation to his various interlocutors indicates in advance what he expects to hear from each one and perhaps also what he does not expect to hear. In any case, the unnamed philosopher provides what is generally acknowledged to be both a masterful and concise exposition of the Neoplatonic-Aristotelian world-view that dominated so much of medieval intellectual life from the 10th century on. While most of the claims put forward were common to all medieval Aristotelians, three ideas in particular suggest the influence of Halevi's contemporary, Ibn Bajjah (d. 1138), the foremost Aristotelian of his generation in Spain. These ideas are that union with the Active Intellect is possible during one's lifetime, that such union implies cognitive identity with other thinkers who know the truth, and that a philosopher's life is essentially a solitary regimen.