We propose a formal framework for understanding and unifying the concept of observers across physics, computer science, philosophy, and related fields. Building on cybernetic feedback models, we introduce an operational definition of minimal observers, explore their role in shaping foundational concepts, and identify what remains unspecified in their absence. Drawing upon insights from quantum gravity, digital physics, second-order cybernetics, and recent ruliological and pregeometric approaches, we argue that observers serve as indispensable reference points for measurement, reference frames, and the emergence of meaning. We show how this formalism sheds new light on debates related to consciousness, quantum measurement, and computational boundaries; by way of theorems on observer equivalences and complexity measures. This perspective opens new avenues for investigating how complexity and structure arise in both natural and artificial systems.

翻译：我们提出了一个形式化框架，用以理解和统一物理学、计算机科学、哲学及相关领域中观察者的概念。基于控制论的反馈模型，我们引入了最小观察者的操作定义，探讨了它们在塑造基础概念中的作用，并识别了在它们缺席时哪些方面仍未被规定。借鉴量子引力、数字物理学、二阶控制论以及近期的规则学与预几何方法的洞见，我们认为观察者充当了测量、参考系以及意义涌现不可或缺的参照点。我们展示了这一形式体系如何通过关于观察者等价性与复杂性度量的定理，为与意识、量子测量及计算边界相关的辩论提供新的视角。这一观点为研究复杂性和结构在自然与人工系统中如何涌现开辟了新的途径。