Abstract

This paper develops a philosophical account of low-resolution perception as an ontological condition rather than a technological defect. Across visual and sonic media—blur, pixelation, compression, and lo-fi noise—it argues that degraded detail exposes the instability of appearance rather than its failure. Reframing resolution as the degree of structural completeness rather than clarity, the paper proposes a low-resolution ontology in which beings emerge through partiality, attenuation, and atmospheric drift. Drawing on phenomenology, media theory, and contemporary ontology, it positions blur as a structural mode of worldhood rather than an aesthetic error.