The nature, structure, and perception of illumination

Journal article

Illumination is a defining characteristic of natural environments, yet its nature and spatial structure remain poorly understood. I argue first that illumination is not simply light: it is an emergent, ecologically significant kind. Illumination has features not possessed by light, and contains self-organizing structures that persist through the continual flow of light itself. These structures are immaterial and ephemeral, yet no less real for that. I then argue that these illumination entities are genuine objects of perception. This contrasts with the majority view, which explains illumination-dependent variations in appearance solely by appeal to the perceived properties of material objects. The argument exploits the proposed ontology, which shows that the structure of illumination is more like that of continuous masses of fluid than of discrete solids. Illumination entities are thus individuated not by rigid boundaries, but by stable patterns of intensity and flow. I argue that this fluid-like structure is mirrored by a distinctive type of perceptual organization, whereby scenes are parsed into zones and flows of illumination at multiple scales. This organization involves attributing spatial-structural features that apply distinctively to illumination, which warrants treating it as an object of perception.

Authors: Davies, W

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Wiley
• Journal: Philosophy and Phenomenological Research
• Publication date: 2025-10-30
• Acceptance date: 2025-09-12
• DOI: 10.1111/phpr.70073
• EISSN: 1933-1592
• ISSN: 0031-8205
• Language: English
• Keywords: perceptual organization; illumination; optics; ontology; illumination perception