
Philosophy at the Museum: Medieval Art at The Met Cloisters
October 18, 2026 · 2 PM
The Met Cloisters, New York
Participants discuss life, purpose, death, and St. Augustine’s ideas in three 30-minute sessions, using prompts and a guided pamphlet in groups of three to four at The Met Cloisters.
Explore questions about life and death through three 30-minute small-group philosophical discussions amid the Cloisters’ medieval art and Gothic chapels.
Celebrate this Halloween season with us inside The Met Cloisters, as we go from birth and ultimate beginnings, through life and purpose, to death and scary ends. Surrounded by the Age of Faith, we will conceptualize our own time in this world versus a time before and after us– inquiring into what it means to die in this world and continue unto the next. Through Gothic chapels and Unicorn tapestries, we will consider St. Augustine of Hippo’s view on the many deaths and ask: Is death the ultimate end? And, How does our life affect our death? This program will include three 30-minute sessions where participants will get into small groups of 3-4 to discuss the given prompts. Brief introductions before each conversation and a guided pamphlet will invite everyone to engage with the Cloisters on an introspective level through robust philosophical engagement with others.