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 studied Philosophy at the University of Amsterdam and Freie Universität Berlin. Before commencing his PhD, he worked as a lecturer at the University of Arts Utrecht, 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 Dutch Institute Rome, the Netherlands Institute Athens, the Van Doesburghuis in Paris and the Dutch University Institute for Art History in Florence. He has published on a wide variety of issues at the intersection of art and society.

Selected publications

Boon, Errol (forthcoming). ''Plato's Circle of Words and Tones''. In: Metron kai Mousikē. The Heritage of Western Greece Series. Edited by Heather Read, John Bagby, Ronald Blankenborg, Jurgen Gatt. Parnassos Press. 

Boon, Errol (forthcoming). ''Artistic Truth: The Contemporary Relevance of an Ancient Quarrel''. In: Pharos. Journal of the Netherlands Institute of Athens. Leuven: Peeters Publishers. 

Boon, Errol (forthcoming). "The Finite Promise of Infinite Love". In: Philosophies. Special Issue on Philosophies of Love. Edited by Joseph Rivera.

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.