Errol Boon is a doctoral researcher in Philosophy at Freie Universität Berlin (Friedrich Schlegel Graduiertenschule) and Leiden University (Centre for Continental Philosophy), and an associated researcher at the Cluster of Excellence 'Temporal Communities: Doing Literature in a Global Perspective'. He studied Philosophy at the University of Amsterdam and Freie Universität Berlin. Before commencing his PhD, 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 for various institutes in the Dutch art sector. He was a visiting researcher at the Royal Netherlands Institute in Rome, the Netherlands Institute in Athens, the Van Doesburg House in Paris, and the Dutch University Institute for Art History in Florence. He has published and lectured on a wide variety of topics at the intersection of art and philosophy.

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. Journal of the Netherlands Institute of Athens. Vol 26(1). 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. The Heritage of Western Greece Series.Edited by John Bagby, Ronald Blankenborg, Jurgen Gatt. Parnassos Press. 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)

2025

• 'One Last Miracle: On Creativity and Artificial Intelligence'. British Society for Philosophy of Religion: Creativity and Creation. Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom. 
• 'The Question of Artistic TruthL Ancient Problems and Contemporary Debates'. Annual Meeting of the American Society for Aesthetics. Lord Baltimore Hotel, Baltimore, Maryland United States.
• 'On Musical Truth'. Conference European Network for Philosophy of Music: AI in Music: Creation, Performance, Interpretation. Strasbourg, France.
• 'Recollection in Plato’s Theaetetus: Attempts for a Modern Understanding'. Siracusa Summer Seminar in Ancient Greek Philosophy with a Focus on Plato’s Theaetetus. Fonte Aretusa, Syracuse, Italy.
• 'One Last Miracle. On Creativity and Artificial Intelligence'. Dutch Association for Aesthetics Conference: Changing Aesthetics and Society in the Digital Age. Antwerp University, Antwerp, Belgium.
• 'The Solipsistic AI'. Doctoral Workshop: Artificial Intelligence and Creativity. Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris, France.
• 'The Question of Artistic Truth. Ancient Problems and Contemporary Debates'. European Society for Aesthetics Conference. National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Athens, Greece. 
• 'Once Again, the Ancient Quarrel Between Philosophy and Poetry'. OZSW (Dutch Research School for Philosophy) Annual Conference. Delft University, Delft, Netherlands. 
• 'The Question of Artistic Truth in Plato and Aristotle'. Research Colloquium Prof. Anne Eusterschulte and Prof. Simon Godart. Freie Universität Berlin, Germany. 
• 'The Problem of Aesthetic Truth'. Leiden Centre for Continental Philosophy PhD Workshop. Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands.

2024

• 'Dialectics and the Finitude of Discursive Reason'. Symposium on Dialogical Reason. Radius, Delft, Netherlands.
• 'De Eindige Hartstocht naar Oneindige Liefde. Over de Metafysica van het Huwelijk'. OZSW Vlaams-Nederlandse Filosofiedag. KU Leuven, Belgium.
• '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.
• 'The Truth-Value of Artworks. Proposal for a New Approach'. Warwick Continental Philosophy Conference. University of Warwick, Coventry, UK.
• 'Plato’s Circle of Words and Tones'. Workshop Music and Ethics. Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, US.
• 'Musical Pedagogy in Plato’s Republic'. Symposium on Hellenistic Heritage of Sicily. Fonte Aretusa, Syracuse, Italy.
• 'The Finite Promise of Infinite Love'. Workshop Platform for Love, Sex and Body-Positive Research. IKSK, Berlin, Germany.

2023

• 'The Problem of Artistic Truth in Plato and Aristotle'. Bridging Cultures and Academic Insight. University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

2021

• 'What Does One Mean by the Promise of Everlasting Love?' Conference The Concept Of Love. University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania.

2020

• 'The Metaphysics of Marriage'. Workshop Philosophy of Love. Tilburg University, The Netherlands.

2017

•  'Establishing Eternity: on the Aesthetic Framing of Rome as La Città Eterna'. Graduate Conference Traveling Cultures. Royal Dutch Institute Rome, Rome, Italy.

Keynote Lectures (public / professional)

2025

• 'Eros & Episteme. Het Verlangen naar Kennis en de Kennis van het Verlangen'. Spuntino. Terre Lente, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
• 'De Waarheid van het Kunstwerk, of: Kunnen We Denken Zonder Woorden?' Brainwash Festival, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

2022

• 'The Krísis of International Arts. Towards a Translocal Mode of Thought'. Annual Conference of the European Association of Conservatoires (AEC), Monopoli, Italy 
• 'Beyond the Local and the Rural in the Arts'. Annual Meeting of Association des Centres Culturel de Rencontre d’Ambronay, Ambronay, France.
• 'Translocality and Globalisation in the Arts'. Classic Futures Europe Conference of the European Concert Halls Organisation, Barcelona, Spain.

2021

• 'Artistic Translocality: Historical Promises and Future Challenges'. Annual Conference of REMA European Early Music Network and Eeemerging+, Lyon, France.

2020

• 'The Philosophy of Myth: Sigmund Freud and Susanne K. Langer'. Rotor Study Group. Online, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

2016

• 'Absurdity & Freedom'. Amsterdam Art Weekend, Galerie Gabriel Rolt, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Interviews

• 'Eindeloze liefde in een eindig leven: waarom we volgens Errol Boon ‘eeuwige’ liefde beloven'. Leiden University Website.
• '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.