Errol Boon is a doctoral researcher in Philosophy at Freie Universität Berlin and Leiden University (Centre for Continental Philosophy). Besides, he is an associated researcher at the Cluster of Excellence 'Temporal Communities: Doing Literature in a Global Perspective', a board member of the Dutch Association for Aesthetics and research fellow at the Berlin University Alliance. After he obtained his BA and MA in Philosophy from the University of Amsterdam, he worked as a tenured lecturer at the University of the Arts Utrecht, an assistant lecturer at the University of Amsterdam, and as a researcher and curator in the Dutch art sector. He was a visiting researcher at the University of Oxford, Royal Netherlands Institute in Rome, the Netherlands Institute in Athens, the Van Doesburg House in Paris, and the University Institute for Art History in Florence.

Summer term 2026

Heidegger's Origin of the Artwork Essay - Corpus Christi College, University of Oxford.

Heidegger on Truth (Der Ursprung des Kunstwerks, Vom Wesen der Wahrheit & Platons Lehre der Wahrheit) - Centre for Continental Philosophy, Leiden University

Winter term 2025–26
Adornos Ästhetische Theorie – Friedrich Schlegel Graduiertenschule, Freie Universität Berlin 

Summer and winter terms 2021–2024
Various courses in aesthetics, philosophy of art, design thinking, artistic internationalisation, aesthetic cognition and research skills – BA Art & Economics, HKU University of Arts Utrecht

Summer term 2020
The Problem of 'Marriage' in Theoretical Philosophy – BA Philosophy, University of Amsterdam

Research

My research explores questions at the intersection of aesthetics and theoretical philosophy, focusing on concepts such as truth, knowledge, representation and reality in the context of aesthetics and art. More specifically, I am fascinated with non-discursive modes of thought — ways of thinking that do not rely on statements and propositional reasoning but instead unfold through affective, intuitive, or aesthetic forms of cognition.

This perspective invites a reconsideration of artistic practices as modes of thought that bear a non-discursive form of insight, understanding, knowledge or truth. I aim to systematically examine the epistemological possibilities and limits of such non-discursive modes of thought, and explore how notions traditionally tied to discursive rationality—such as logic, rationality research, and truth—can be meaningfully applied to them. 

My dissertation examines the truth value of non-discursive modes of thought in the arts. Engaging with ancient Greek philosophy, I distinguish three distinct forms of truth - metaphysical truth (ἀλήθεια), epistemic correctness (ὀρθότης) and aesthetic truthfulness (πιθανότης) – and argue that each of these truth forms corresponds to a different metaphysical modality of being (necessity, reality, and possibility, respectively). Through this framework, I seek to articulate and critically analyze two key conceptions of non-discursive truth: one rooted in phenomenological hermeneutics (esp. Heidegger), the other in critical dialectics (esp. Adorno).

Fields of interest

Periods/Philosophers:

• Ancient Greek Philosophy (Plato, Aristotle).
• German Idealism (Kant, Hegel).
• Early Existentialism (Kierkegaard, Nietzsche).
• Phenomenology and Hermeneutics (Heidegger, Gadamer).
• Critical Theory (Adorno).
• Symbol Theory (Langer, Goodman).

Aesthetics:

• Cognitive value of art (artistic truth, aesthetic cognitivism, artistic research, artistic form, aesthetic epistemology, musical significance). 
• Representation (mimesis, plausibility, fiction, virtual reality, metaphor).
• Creativity and artificial intelligence.
• Internationalisation of the arts (cultural globalisation, artistic censorship, fair international cultural cooperation, cosmopolitanism, translocality).
• Art and participation (participatory art, cultural participation).

Metaphysics/Epistemology:

• Truth.
• Reason, rationality, thought.
• Freedom.
• Transcendentalism.

Philosophy of love: 

• Love and knowledge.
• Metaphysics of love.
• Marriage.
• Desire, (divine) madness, passion.

Publications

Forthcoming

• 'Artistic Truth: The Contemporary Relevance of an Ancient Quarrel'. In: Pharos. Vol 26(1): 187-192. Leuven: Peeters Publishers. 

2025

• 'Plato’s Circle of Words and Tones: On the Dialectic Between Logos and Music in the Pursuit of Truth'. In: Meter and Music in Ancient Greece. Edited by John Bagby, Ronald Blankenborg, Jurgen Gatt. Parnassos Press. pp. 191-214.

• 'The Finite Passion for Infinite Love, or What Does It Mean to Love Forever?' In: Philosophies. Special Issue on Philosophies of Love. Edited by Joseph Rivera. Vol. 10(3): 57-79.

2023 

• The Question of Artistic Truth: Preparations for a Critique of Non-Discursive Reason. Scriptiebank. University of Amsterdam.

2022

• 'Creating an Online Community: Corona in the City'. In: Technology and Culture. John Hopkins University Press. Vol. 63(2): 461-470. 

Selected Professional Publications (Non-Refereed)  

• 'Translocality: Artistic Internationalisation After the Corona Crisis'. In: Reshape. 2020.
• 'Beyond Expats and Nomads: on Cosmopolitanism in the Arts'. In: DutchCulture. 2020.
• 'Fuocoammare, or the Critical Call of a Silent Artwork: Can Works of Art Provide an Alternative Critical Way of Thinking about Migration?' In: Routed Magazine. Vol. 13(1). 2020. 
• 'Art and Migration: on Cultural Internationalisation in the Age of Displacement'. In: DutchCulture. 2020.
• 'To Refuse the World Without Leaving It: Art & Censorship in an International Context'. In: DutchCulture. 2019.
• 'To Stretch the Limits Without Transgressing Them: Four International Cases of Artistic Censorship'. In: DutchCulture. 2019.
• 'What Does Cultural Internationalisation Mean? On the Artistic Challenges of the Globalised World'. In: DutchCulture. 2019.

Presentations (Academic)

• The Aesthetics of Philosophy. Responding to the Crisis of Form (panel). Annual Conference Society for European Philosophy. University of Manchester, UK. 2026.
• 'One Last Miracle: On the Metaphysics of Creativity in the Age of Artificial Omniscience'. European Society for Aesthetics Conference. Jyväskylä University, Finland. 2026.
• 'Metaphysical Truth & Untruth in Fiction: Adorno, Hegel & Heidegger' (panel). Fiction and Lies: the ASIFF/SIRFF Fourth International Congress. University of Edinburgh, UK. 2026.
• 'The Finite Promise of Infinite Love, or What Does it Mean to Love Forever?.' Research Colloquium Professor Anne Eusterschulte and Sebastian Tränkle. Freie Universität Berlin. 2026.
• 'Reply to Monique Roelof's ''Strange Tastes: Aesthetics and the Public in Latin American and Latinx Feminisms''' (panel). Book Presentation Strange Tastes. University of Amsterdam, Netherlands. 2026.
• 'The Unempirical Stakes of Philosophy: Aesthetics as the Refuge of Metaphysics in Theodor W. Adorno' (panel). OZSW Annual Conference: The Stakes of Philosophy. Rotterdam University, Netherlands. 2026.
• 'Adorno's Paralipomena'. Symposium on Adorno's Ästhetische Theorie: Paralipomena. Freie Universität Berlin, Germany. 2026.
• 'Truth in Hegel's Vorlesungen über die Ästhetik and Adorno's Ästhetische Theorie'. Seminar Hegel's Ästhetik,  Universität Potsdam, Germany. 2026.
• 'Theories of Non-Discursive Truth in Critical Dialectics and Phenomenological Hermeneutics'. Colloquium Friedrich Schlegel Graduiertenschule. Freie Universität Berlin, Germany. 2026.
• 'The Metaphysics and Aesthetics of Creativity in the Age of Artificial Intelligence' (panel). Annual Conference Dutch Research School for Philosophy. Rotterdam University, Netherlands. 2026.
• ‘Es ereignet sich aber / das Wahre‘: Hölderlin und die Wahrheit der Dichtung. Philosophische Lektüren zwischen Adorno and Heidegger. Friedrich Schlegel Graduiertenschule, FU Berlin. 2026.
• 'The Question of Artistic Truth: Ancient Problems and Contemporary Debates'. Annual Meeting of the American Society for Aesthetics. Lord Baltimore Hotel, Baltimore, Maryland United States. 2025.
• 'One Last Miracle: On Creativity and Artificial Intelligence'. British Society for Philosophy of Religion: Creativity and Creation. Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford, United Kingdom. 2025.
• 'On Musical Truth'. Conference European Network for Philosophy of Music: AI in Music: Creation, Performance, Interpretation. Strasbourg, France. 2025.
• 'Aporia or Via Negativa? Taking a Roundabout in the Theaetetus'. Siracusa Summer Seminar in Ancient Greek Philosophy with a Focus on Plato’s Theaetetus. Fonte Aretusa, Syracuse, Italy. 2025.
• 'One Last Miracle. On Creativity and Artificial Intelligence'. Dutch Association for Aesthetics Conference: Changing Aesthetics and Society in the Digital Age. Antwerp University, Belgium. 2025.
• 'The Question of Artistic Truth. UNA Europe Summer School for Doctoral Researchers: Artificial Intelligence and Creativity, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris, France. 2025.
• 'Plato’s Circle of Words and Tones. On the Dialectic Between Logos and Music in the Pursuit of Truth.' Research Colloquium Professor Anne Eusterschulte and Sebastian Tränkle. Freie Universität Berlin. 2025
• 'The Solipsistic AI'. Doctoral Workshop: Artificial Intelligence and Creativity. Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris, France. 2025.
• 'The Question of Artistic Truth. Ancient Problems and Contemporary Debates'. European Society for Aesthetics Conference. National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece. 2025. 
• 'Once Again, the Ancient Quarrel Between Philosophy and Poetry'. OZSW (Dutch Research School for Philosophy) Annual Conference. Delft University, Netherlands. 2025.
• 'The Question of Artistic Truth in Plato and Aristotle'. Research Colloquium Prof. Anne Eusterschulte and Prof. Simon Godart. Freie Universität Berlin, Germany. 2025.
• 'The Problem of Aesthetic Truth'. Leiden Centre for Continental Philosophy PhD Workshop. Leiden University, Netherlands. 2025.
• 'Dialectics and the Finitude of Discursive Reason'. Symposium on Dialogical Reason. Radius, Delft, Netherlands. 2024.
• 'De Eindige Hartstocht naar Oneindige Liefde. Over de Metafysica van het Huwelijk'. OZSW Vlaams-Nederlandse Filosofiedag. KU Leuven, Belgium. 2024.
• 'Sophistic Discourse, Philosophical Metaphors. On Meno’s Paradox'. Siracusa Summer Seminar in Ancient Greek Philosophy with a Focus on Plato’s Meno. Fonte Aretusa, Syracuse, Italy. 2024.
• 'The Truth-Value of Artworks. Proposal for a New Approach'. Warwick Continental Philosophy Conference. University of Warwick, Coventry, UK. 2024.
• 'Plato’s Circle of Words and Tones'. Workshop Music and Ethics. Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, US. 2024.
• 'Musical Pedagogy in Plato’s Republic'. Symposium on Hellenistic Heritage of Sicily. Fonte Aretusa, Syracuse, Italy. 2024.
• 'The Finite Promise of Infinite Love'. Workshop Platform for Love, Sex and Body-Positive Research. IKSK, Berlin, Germany. 2024.
• 'The Problem of Artistic Truth in Plato and Aristotle'. Bridging Cultures and Academic Insight. University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. 2023.
• 'What Does One Mean by the Promise of Everlasting Love?' Conference The Concept Of Love. University of Bucharest, Romania. 2021
• 'The Metaphysics of Marriage'. Workshop Philosophy of Love. Tilburg University, The Netherlands. 2020.
• 'Establishing Eternity: on the Aesthetic Framing of Rome as La Città Eterna'. Graduate Conference Traveling Cultures. Royal Dutch Institute Rome, Italy. 2017

Keynote Lectures (public / professional)

• 'Chaos as Deciphered Order. On Denis Villeneuve’s Enemy'. Film & Philosophy, Corrosia Theater, Almere, Netherlands. 
• 'Identity and Non-Identity. On Robert Altman's 3 Women'. Film & Philosophy, Corrosia Theater, Almere, Netherlands. 2026.
• 'Eros & Episteme. The Desire for Knowledge and the Knowledge of Desire'. Spuntino. Terre Lente, Amsterdam, Netherlands. 2026.
• 'Repetion and Recollection. On Hitchcocks Vertigo'. Film & Philosophy, Corrosia Theater, Almere, Netherlands. 2026.
• 'A Love Story in the City of Dreams. On David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive’. Film & Philosophy, Corrosia Theater, Almere, Netherlands. 2026.
• 'De Waarheid van het Kunstwerk, of: Kunnen We Denken Zonder Woorden?' Brainwash Festival, Amsterdam, Netherlands. 2025.
• 'The Masquarade of Language. On Ingmar Bergman's Persona’. Film & Philosophy, Corrosia Theater, Almere, Netherlands. 2025.
• 'The Krísis of International Arts. Towards a Translocal Mode of Thought'. Annual Conference of the European Association of Conservatoires (AEC), Monopoli, Italy. 2022.
• 'Beyond the Local and the Rural in the Arts'. Annual Meeting of Association des Centres Culturel de Rencontre d’Ambronay, Ambronay, France. 2022.
• 'Translocality and Globalisation in the Arts'. Classic Futures Europe Conference of the European Concert Halls Organisation, Barcelona, Spain. 2022.
• 'Artistic Translocality: Historical Promises and Future Challenges'. Annual Conference of REMA European Early Music Network and Eeemerging+, Lyon, France. 2021.
• 'The Philosophy of Myth: Sigmund Freud and Susanne K. Langer'. Rotor Study Group. Online, Amsterdam, Netherlands. 2020.
• 'Absurdity & Freedom'. Amsterdam Art Weekend, Galerie Gabriel Rolt, Amsterdam, Netherlands. 2016

Media

• 'Infinite love in a finite life: Why, according to philosopher Errol Boon, we promise each other eternal love'. In: Leiden University.

• 'Meet the Fellows: Errol Boon.' In: Berlin University Alliance.

• ‘Errol Boon at Brainwash Festival’. In: Brainwash Festival

• ‘Kunst kan tonen wat filosofie en wetenschap verbergen’. In: Bij Nader Inzien.

• 'De eeuwige liefde van jonge denker Errol Boon.’ In: NOS Met het Oog op Morgen. Broadcasted from Hilversum, Netherlands.

• 'Plato, Music, and the Limits of Reason. A Conversation with Errol Boon' With Dr. Jack Bagby. Socratic Swansongs. Broadcasted online from Berlin / New York.

• 'Kunst moet gaan over worden, niet over zijn'. In: Van Doesburghuis. 

• 'Artistic Censorship, Cultural Values and Eurocentrism'. In: Gonzo Magazine.

• 'Literatuur op het podium'. In: Babel Magazine.