 Other influential philosophers, educators, and students of contemporary philosophy are Juan Benito Díaz de Gamarra (1745–1783), author of Elementa recentioris philosophiae (1774); the polymath José Antonio Alzate (1737–1799), a ferocious critic of Aristotle; and José Mariano Mociño (1757–1820), a distinguished expert in botany. All three proved influential in challenging the Colonial rule of Spain by challenging the dominance of tradition for the sake of tradition.