Observers Amongst Themselves

The philosophers of German Idealism – Kant, Fichte, Schelling, and Hegel – each developed concepts that may be regarded as prolegomena to a theory of the observer. These culminated, especially in the case of Fichte, in the notion of the self as empty and therefore in need of an external world.

In this world, theoretical knowledge and practical action are never in perfect alignment, which means that the very process of observation and the observer himself can only be conceived in terms of difference and complexity. This is fortunate for cultural theory, which depends precisely on placing the observer in relation not only to other observers but also that which he observes.

Drawing on George Spencer-Brown’s formal calculus, Dirk Baecker shows that this provides a solid basis for the formulation of a theory of the observer. Building upon an original re-reading of the history of philosophy and theory, Baecker argues that it is possible to understand culture as the recognition of the position of an observer from the perspective of that position’s contingency. This book is nothing less than an impressive, formal foundation for a sociological theory of culture.

»Sociologist Dirk Baecker is one of the most interesting and prolific thinkers working in systems theory today.« Der Spiegel

»Elegant and dauntless: sociologist Dirk Baecker presents a theory of culture for our time« Ralf Konersmann, Süddeutsche Zeitung