Despite the innovations introduced by medieval thinkers in this matter concerning the distinction between theory and practice it may be said that by and large they adhered to the classical tradition of placing theory above practice. This also applies to those philosophical tendencies in the Middle Ages that stressed the element of the will in contrast to theory or cognition. The position of theory, however, was not impaired despite the various interpretations proposed with respect to its inner nature. This problem underwent a change in Bacon's conception, a change which had a considerable influence on the various approaches to the problem concerning the distinction between theory and practice and the scale of preferences to which these approaches were attached.