The invention relates to a method for material processing and/or material analysis of an object (18) made from condensed matter by means of a laser (12). A laser pulse (14) is generated by a laser, emitted in the direction of the object. The laser pulse is spatially and temporally focussed such as to give a peak power for the laser pulse at a point between the laser and the object which exceeds the critical power for a self-focussing effect of the laser pulse. The laser pulse thus forms a filament (88) of high power density. The filament (88) is directed at the object and generates an aggregation state change there (evaporation or plasma formation) for a part of the material of the object. The method can be applied to both material processing (cutting, drilling, welding, hardening) and material analysis (analysis of the plasma light).