# Some principles of ephemeral vision **Opening (not a real abstract):** Some Principles of Ephemeral Vision Mohan Matthen Here is a foundational proposition about vision: The Material Object Paradigm Visual experience is normally structured around material objects—material masses bounded by continuous surfaces. What we normally see is their features, their movements, and what happens to them. The Material Object Paradigm is contested from many directions, and I shall not attempt to defend it here. My concern in this paper is with visual states that flout the paradigm. For there are other things we see, or seem to see —light, regions of darkness, shadows, reflections in mirrors, shiny spots, and depicted objects. Aside from light (which presents a rather different problem), each of these lacks physical mass. Because they are non-physical, it’s appropriate to call them visual ephemera. **Authors:** [[Matthen]]