Eric Voegelin Rekurs auf aristotelische Denkmotive im Theorierahmen von "Order and History"

The theoretical framework outlined in "Order and History" had been partially foreseen by Voegelin in the theory of representation he introduced in "New Science of Politics". Here Voegelin had declared his intention to leave behind the widespread practice of a “political theory” based on ideas and values (doxa,) in order to reconquer access to a “political science” (politike episteme) based on an authentic knowledge. The article seeks to reconstruct the stages that brought about this result for Voegelin. In particular it is shown that this was reached following an Aristotelian methodology, that is, developing a zetesis (inquiry) starting from singling out precise open problems (aporiai) in the scientific reference panorama, marked by a varied adherence to Neokantianism. With regard to this, it is shown how the figure of Max Weber constituted the privileged reference point for Voegelin to identify the weak points of the Baden Neo-Kantians. Voegelin has been committed to the comparison between two distinct issues:. The first consists in the search for criteria that permit establishing what political reality is and wherein lies its intrinsic link with history. The second consists in establishing the distinctive characteristics of the object of historical sciences. In both fields the recourse to Aristotelian epistemological principles and the adherence to the ontology upon which it is based were crucial, in order to identify and resolve the aporias found in these two areas. The article pays special attention to the terminology Voegelin uses, and above all to the term “form” that recurs in the key expression “form of experience.” One wonders the meaning with which Voegelin intends it and in what measure it corresponds to the Aristotelian term “eidos.”