Abstract: As an important political thinker in the 20^th century,Eric Voegelin has made unique contribution in the field of political philosophy and historical philosophy,whereas the study of him by the Chinese-speaking scholars is still in the initial stages.It is quite common for a reader of Voegelin's writings to find himself encountered by difficulty,which is caused,to a great extent,by Voegelin's unusual usage of some key concepts.According to Voegelin,“to search order”is the purpose of his theoretical work,and order means both the structure of the reality experienced by people and the state of existence when people keep in attunement with the structure.It is through analysis of experiences and symbols that the search of order is carried out.In Voegelin's writings,the word “experience”indicates human experience of the Being and its order,comprising both the experience usually understood by people,namely that of external things and acquired by sense organs,as well as the transcendent experience which is acquired only through meditation.Correspondingly,as the expressions of experience in language,the word “symbol”covers the various contents of myth,philosophy,revelation and mysticism.Therefore,Voegelin's “new science of politics”rejects explicitly the customary distinction between political science and political philosophy,a distinction made by the modern mainstream scholarship which is deeply influenced by positivism.In contrast,Voegelin's new science of politics is devoted to empirical studies in philosophical perspective,and its objects are the symbolisms of order presented by peoples of various ages and societies.

Key words: Eric Voegelin,order,experience,symbol