What Contemporary Culture Needs to Learn from Thomas Aquinas – Prof. Michael Dauphinais
The Thomistic Institute
The Thomistic Institute
4.8 • 873 Ratings
🗓️ 28 January 2026
⏱️ 49 minutes
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Summary
Prof. Michael Dauphinais explains what contemporary culture needs to learn from Thomas Aquinas, arguing for a metaphysics of communion in which God, family, Church, and society are not locked in competition but share common goods that make each more fully alive.
This lecture was given on September 22nd, 2025, at University of Florida.
For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.
About the Speakers:
Michael A. Dauphinais, Ph.D., serves as the Fr. Matthew Lamb Professor of Catholic Theology and the co-director of the Aquinas Center for Theological Renewal at Ave Maria University, Ave Maria, Florida. He has co-authored with Matthew Levering Knowing the Love of Christ: An Introduction to the Theology of Thomas Aquinas; Holy People, Holy Land: A Theological Introduction to the Bible; and The Wisdom of the Word: Biblical Answers to Ten Questions about Catholicism. He specializes in C.S. Lewis, the Bible, and St. Thomas Aquinas. He speaks frequently in both academic and popular settings, and particularly enjoys visiting Thomistic Institute student chapters. Dr. Dauphinais hosts The Catholic Theology Show podcast to help a wide audience discover the richness of coming to know and love God as he has revealed himself in Jesus Christ.
Keywords: Common Good, Common Good versus Zero-Sum Competition, God’s Non-Competitive Action, Human Community, Metaphysics of Communion, Natural Law, Original Sin and False Image of God, Participated Goods in Family and Society, Thomistic View of Marriage and Family, Vision of God in Evangelium Vitae
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the Tomistic Institute podcast. |
| 0:06.2 | Our mission is to promote the Catholic intellectual tradition in the university, the church, and the wider public square. |
| 0:12.7 | The lectures on this podcast are organized by university students at Temistic Institute chapters around the world. |
| 0:19.3 | To learn more and to attend these events, visit us at to mystic institute.org. |
| 0:24.6 | Well, it's such a pleasure to be able to speak with you this evening. |
| 0:29.6 | And I want to share with you basically some of the things that I've learned over 30 years of studying Aquinas and really |
| 0:39.9 | kind of rediscovering my faith that I'll talk a little bit about. |
| 0:43.8 | But one of the key ideas that I want to share is that ideas matter. |
| 0:50.3 | And as John Wayne, who was a great Western actor in the 20th century, |
| 0:56.5 | who actually is said to have converted to Catholicism on his deathbed, |
| 1:02.7 | he said that life is hard and it's harder if you're stupid. |
| 1:07.2 | And what I just want to share is that life is hard and it's harder if you have stupid ideas |
| 1:13.2 | about God, about Jesus Christ, and about yourself. |
| 1:19.6 | So ideas matter. So what contemporary culture needs to learn from Thomas Aquinas? How communion |
| 1:26.9 | overcomes conflict in Christ. I have a Dominican |
| 1:32.2 | sister who's taking a class with me, and I happen to share that I was giving this talk here. |
| 1:37.1 | And anyway, she said I should entitle it. Secularists survive while Tomists thrive. |
| 1:45.0 | Why moderns need Aquinas for the happy life. |
| 1:48.0 | So that's from a good Dominican. |
| 1:50.0 | Now, I want to begin by thinking about that notion of a worldview. |
| 1:54.0 | James Seyer, who's written a lot on worldview and Christian and non-Christian ideas. |
| 2:01.6 | But as it seems as it's naming the elephant. |
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