Best of the Spectator Holy Smoke: 800 years on, why is Aquinas Gen Z’s favourite philosopher?
Sep 21, 2025
Fr Gregory Pine, a Dominican friar and professor of theology, explores the enduring appeal of St. Thomas Aquinas, now celebrated 800 years after his birth. He discusses Aquinas’s structured approach to philosophical inquiry and why his ideas resonate with Generation Z, emphasizing the clarity and rigor they offer in a post-truth world. Fr Gregory shares insights from his own journey within the Order of Preachers and provides tips for engaging with Aquinas's works, highlighting that faith doesn't require mastery, just commitment.
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Aquinas As Disciplined Teacher
- Thomas Aquinas offers a disciplined, orderly synthesis that translates divine wisdom into comprehensible human wisdom.
- His method helps immerse believers in the tradition while providing clear distinctions to approach reality with God at the center.
First Way: Argument From Change
- Aquinas proves God's existence using reason, notably the argument from motion (change) among his Five Ways.
- He argues an ultimate fully actual cause is required to ground all change and intelligible causal chains, which we call God.
Thomism's Recurring Resurgence
- Aquinas's appeal resurfaces because his metaphysical depth meets recurring human needs across eras.
- His work returns in waves whenever cultures seek stable, reasoned grounding against relativism or collapse of discourse.
