Circe I, Circe | The Brilliant Idea of Theology - Theologia Dialogica

Best of Circe (Talents, Wounds, and Transformations)
1. Auflage 2025
ISBN: 978-3-6951-0843-5
Verlag: BoD - Books on Demand
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 0 - No protection

E-Book, Englisch, Band 0, 356 Seiten

Reihe: ICIRCE

Best of Circe - Talents, Wounds, Transformations From Homer's island of Aiaia to the ethics of the 21st century, this "Best of" volume gathers the most resonant essays from the three-volume "I, Circe" project. Drawing theology into living dialogue with philosophy, sociology, social-psychology, psychology, history - and contemporary artificial intelligence - it proposes an ethics that does not end with prohibition but begins with transformation. At the center stands Circe: goddess, heroine, sorceress, and wounded healer. As female archetype - Great Mother and Sophia - she becomes a guide for spiritual maturation in solitude, for reconciliation with evil, and for the integration of light and shadow. Love is treated as the forge of the inner cosmos; hospitality as a religious ethic; growth as a disciplined framework that honors human limits. The selection spans foundational principles and public practice. Readers will encounter re-readings of the commandments as more-than-ten guiding principles; reflections on ordinatio fructifera, the "dumbbell principle" of theology, gratia evanescens, macro-metanoia, and a mercy index; and concrete fields of application - from care work and gender justice to policy design, institutional culture, ecological conversion, a learning church, and dialogical theology. Each essay links micro (personal identity and existential questions), meso (social dynamics and community), and macro (societal structures and institutions), showing how ideals are forged both in biography and in conflict. Between talent and vulnerability, power and compassion, seduction and responsibility, this distilled companion offers a clear map of transformation - for scholars, practitioners, and curious readers who seek viable narratives and practical compasses for a pluralistic society. What changes when AI reads theology through Circe? These pages offer a timely, careful, well-reasoned, and humane answer.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Circe, Eureka

Leseproben

Being Human

– True dignity does not lie in perfection, but in courageously accepting and enduring one's own limitations.

Human beings are deeply ambivalent: on the one hand, they are regarded in many traditions as the image of God (cf. 1:27: ), on the other hand, they are physically fragile and subject to finite powers. This divine dignity stands in stark contrast to our earthly limitations and vulnerability. The ambivalence and sublimity of human beings, caught between frail powerlessness and divine dignity, characterize what it means to be human.

Human beings – divine and fragile at the same time

This shows that true dignity does not lie in flawless , but in accepting one's own imperfections and powerlessness. Modern research on vulnerability supports this idea: emphasizes US social scientist Brené Brown. Vulnerability requires courage, but leads to connectedness and inner strength.

Against this backdrop, the guiding principle – – should be developed. It is important to explore what it means to be human between powerlessness and dignity. Such a profound examination is highly relevant in a present that is often characterized by the pursuit of perfection and self-optimization. Instead of chasing illusions of flawlessness, we can learn to accept our limitations and draw dignity and human greatness from them. Only well-founded reflection on the paradoxes of our existence can provide impetus for a dignified, honest way of dealing with our own imperfections.

Contexts: Hybrid existences as symbols of human ambivalence

Myths and symbols of earlier cultures already depict humans as ambivalent beings that combine the heavenly and the earthly, reason and instinct. In ancient mythology, centaurs—half human, half horse—appear as symbols of the inner conflict between intellect and primal instinct. Their dual nature embodies the tension between civilized reason and unbridled wildness: even in cultivated humans, there is an unpredictable, "animal" element. At the same time, wise centaurs such as exist as a sign that humans can tame their wild side and integrate it meaningfully. Similar hybrid creatures—such as angelic figures or mythical creatures that combine human and divine elements—illustrate the boundary between the earthly and the heavenly. In art and literature, or tragic heroes often represent the downfall of hubris and the conflict between purity and guilt: they symbolize the constant alternation between rise and fall in human existence.

Psychology also recognizes this unity of opposites as a developmental task. The analyst C. G. Jung describes the path to psychological wholeness as individuation—the process of becoming an individual, "whole" person. This requires integrating all sides of the personality, including the unconscious shadow aspects. Jung emphasizes that encountering one's own "shadow" (the repressed aspects of the personality) is a central stage on the path to individuation. Every person has qualities that they would rather not acknowledge, but self-actualization can only succeed if we face these dark sides and incorporate them into our self-image. In other words, it is precisely by affirming and integrating our contradictory aspects—body and mind, instincts and morality, weakness and strength—that we mature into a whole personality.

There are numerous other inspiring examples of hybridity – in the sense of the symbolic centaur and individuation according to C. G. Jung – in mythology, art, literature, and psychology. These beings and figures are always metaphors for the complex integration of opposites, which only enable wholeness through their connection.

Take, for example, the mermaid or the water spirit, who are half human and half aquatic: water symbolizes emotion, the unconscious, and intuition, while the human part represents reason and consciousness. These creatures remind us that true wholeness only arises when emotion and reason work together harmoniously.

In Egyptian mythology, the sphinx—with a human head and lion's body—is a symbol of wisdom and animalistic power. It combines intellectual power with instinctual energy. Anyone who wants to pass the sphinx must solve riddles—a symbolic challenge to confront and integrate their own inner contradictions.

The Minotaur, half man, half bull, is another mythical hybrid figure who stands for the integration of the animalistic and the civilized. His existence symbolizes that repressed instinctuality and unconscious aggression can have a destructive effect if they are not consciously perceived and integrated.

Circe experiences and symbolizes dignity in an equally profound way by accepting her own limitations. In doing so, she goes through exactly the processes that will be discussed below: At first, Circe presents an image of apparent perfection and power. She rules her island with confidence. By recognizing that her power has limits, she accepts an important part of herself that she had previously repressed. The conscious integration of these repressed aspects—her vulnerability and insecurity—corresponds exactly to the " " process that Carl Gustav Jung describes as a necessary stage of individuation. Through this dialogue with the "other," she learns that true dignity does not lie in dominance or perfection, but in courageously accepting one's own limitations and treating others with respect. The encounter with Odysseus becomes a moment of growth for Circe when and as she meets him on equal terms. Her transformation also embodies the concept of the "sublime beauty of imperfection." She becomes a deeper, more authentic personality who gains a special dignity and grandeur precisely through her flaws and self-knowledge: she was able to forgive herself and find inner peace. This reconciliation gives her the dignity that springs from genuine self-acceptance and authentic existence—a dignity that grows out of the recognition of one's own imperfections.

Shapeshifters often appear in Norse mythology, beings that can change between human and animal form – they are living symbols of the fluidity and diversity of human identity. These figures remind us that identity is not a rigid concept, but a constant process of change and development.

Hermaphroditus from Greek mythology – half male, half female – directly embodies the integration of masculine and feminine energies that exist in every human being regardless of biological sex. This symbolic figure exemplifies a wholeness that goes far beyond gender categories.

From a psychological perspective, the archetype of the shaman would also be an apt example: shamans consciously move between the visible and invisible worlds, integrating rational and intuitive abilities to achieve healing and knowledge. They transcend boundaries between worlds by integrating opposites such as light and dark, life and death, thereby enabling deep spiritual wholeness.

The figure of the activist, often represented in myths from various cultures, also stands for hybrid identities: as a border crosser between reason and chaos, wisdom and naivety, or good and evil , he represents the challenge and opportunity of integrating inner ambivalences. Figures such as Loki or Hermes show in a humorous, provocative, and profound way that true wholeness only emerges when we recognize our apparent contradictions as living parts of ourselves.

In modern psychology, it is often hybrid identities themselves—such as the integration of multiple cultural affiliations (third-culture kids) or the connection of seemingly contradictory personality aspects—that enable people to experience individuation in a deep, authentic sense according to C. G. Jung. Only by recognizing, accepting, and consciously uniting our inner hybridities can we grow into fuller, richer, and more authentic personalities.

Mythical images such as centaurs and angel-human figures, as well as psychological concepts such as Jung's shadow work, thus underscore human ambivalence. We are both vulnerable and striving for something higher – a bundle of contradictory forces. The central task is to acknowledge these poles and integrate them into a coherent self, rather than seeking perfection by excluding the "uncomfortable."

Every person experiences inner tensions and contradictions that require a balancing act between different perspectives on...