Eternity of the world

The eternity of the world is the question, in pre-scientific philosophy, of whether the world has a beginning in time or has existed for eternity. It was a concern for ancient philosophers as well as theologians and philosophers of the 13th century. The problem became a focus of a dispute in the 13th century, when some of the works of Aristotle, who believed in the eternity of the world, were rediscovered in the Latin West. This view conflicted with the view of the Catholic Church that the world had a beginning in time. The Aristotelian view was prohibited in the Condemnations of 1210–1277.