The ego-alter-tertius paradigm

Abstract

The humanities, cultural studies and social sciences have for a long time been dominated by a philosophy of action while historical and actual forms of spectatorship stayed widely unattended and reduced to no more than an epiphenomenon. It is the historical merit of Adam Smith to bring together both actor- and spectatorship. His concept of an ego-alter-tertius relationship integrates spectatorship into the framework of actorship. In his description of the commercial society, Smith detects the formation of a society of spectators who had to comply with the rules of fair play. Therefore, Smith drew a distinction between “partial” and “impartial” spectators. The impartial spectator “is no one, who is only interested in a tactical adjustment;” he stands in contrast to “faction and fanaticism.” In the present time, the social web yields a new fragile unit of actorship and spectatorship with so-called influencers and a whole range of user-generated contents. This convergence of actor- and spectatorship calls for closer investigation. The paper will demonstrate that economics, ethics, and aesthetics are closely intertwined within the complete works of Adam Smith without losing their specific characteristics. The invisible hand of the market needs the impartial spectator to avoid “violations of fair play,” and the impartial spectator needs the invisible hand and its capacity to balance opposing interests. But they are not immune to contradictions and unfavourable drifts that of course also require a thorough analysis.