By actively seeking to compare Aristotle's philosophical views with those of other ancient thinkers, the Discussiones earns Patrizi a place in the history of a major philosophical genre which has its roots in classical antiquity and which flourished again during the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, in large part due to the increased availability of translations and commentaries of the works of Plato and other ancient sources. This ‘Comparatio’ tradition would not only attain popularity in printed works but would provide an alternative model for teaching philosophy and natural science in university settings, where Peripatetic views had long held the field. Unlike the ‘Conciliatio’ approach adopted by such thinkers as Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, which sought to reconcile the apparent differences between the teachings of Plato and Aristotle, authors like Patrizi and contemporaries such as Jacopo Mazzoni and Paolo Beni attempted to use a direct confrontation of the opposing views as a method for arriving at a position which was most defensible philosophically. In his own major works Patrizi did not hesitate to emphasize his opposition to Aristotelianism and his preference for a Platonic approach. [see section 3.]