Errol Boon is a doctoral researcher at the Leiden Centre for Continental Philosophy and Freie Universität Berlin. His research focuses on ancient Greek and modern German philosophy, particularly on questions at the intersection of theoretical philosophy and aesthetics. His dissertation is about notions of 'truth' in the arts.

More information about Errol Boon

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).

In 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.

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, the other in critical dialectics.

Curriculum Vitae

Errol Boon is a doctoral researcher at Leiden University and Freie Universität Berlin (Friedrich Schlegel Graduiertenschule). Besides, he is an associated researcher at the Cluster of Excellence 'Temporal Communities: Doing Literature in a Global Perspective' (FU Berlin) and a board member of the Dutch Association for Aesthetics. After his studies in Philosophy at the University of Amsterdam and Freie Universität Berlin, he worked as a tenured lecturer at the University of 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.

Selected publications

Boon, Errol (2026). ‘’Artistic Truth: The Contemporary Relevance of an Ancient Quarrel’’. In: Pharos. Vol 26(1): 187-192. Leuven: Peeters Publishers. ​​​​​​​

Boon, Errol (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 J. R. Bagby, R. Blankenborg, & J. R. Gatt. Parnassos Press – Fonte Aretusa. 191–214. 

Boon, Errol (2025). "The Finite Promise of 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.

Boon, Errol (2023). The Question of Artistic Truth: Preparations for a Critique of Non-Discursive Reason. Scriptiebank. University of Amsterdam. 

Boon, Errol & De Wildt, Annemarie (2022). ''Creating an Online Community: Corona in the City''. In: Technology and Culture. John Hopkins University Press. Vol. 63(2): 461-470.