Analyzing the Garden: Eden Revisited

In Western civilization, the story of Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden is well known from dedicated religious zealots to atheist, ‘rationally’ minded, scientists and most everyone in between. For some this story represents an explanation of our connection to divinity and the origin of humanity. For others it is simply a pre-rational mythological tale that has little or no relevance to the world we live in today.Unfortunately there has been relatively little in the way of sophisticated debate regarding this story. Instead, for those who care, both believe that their view is the only correct way to understand it. This raises a seemingly significant question: Is it the case that these two points of view are completely incompatible with each other or is there room for overlap? Here I would like to take a look at this story from a number of perspectives, and in doing so potentially start to bridge the gap between these two points of view.

So that we can start on some common ground, let us begin with a short review of the foundational aspects of the story. The Garden of Eden was paradise on Earth. It was plentiful and provided for all living creatures in it. Within this paradise, God created a man and a woman. They were free to do as they pleased with one exception, do not eat the fruit of knowledge or the two would be pitched from the garden and never allowed to return. Through the coercion of a snake the people were tricked into consuming the fruit. Doing so expelled them from their Earthly paradise and set into motion the long chain of events leading to the present.

While some details have been left out of the story, this short version contains sufficient information to begin an analysis. The first major question that hinges at the center of the discussion is if the contents of this story are better understood as a literal historical account, if the story is simply a meaningless tale from a previous era, or if it has any symbolism or metaphorical meaning that is pertinent to life today?

First, let’s take on the point of view that this story was intended to be understood literally. In which case, what are we to take from it? Well, it would seem that we have an explanation for the origin of humanity. It gives us an explanation about a connection to a divine energy, and also why we are now less connected to it. However, it also leaves us with a number of questions. For instance, it would be natural to wonder what the fruit of knowledge really is, does anything like it exist today? Why haven’t there been any other snakes capable of communicating and manipulating people in the same way? Also, how was this story originally recorded and how did it arrive to us in the present? This by no means exhausts the list, but it gives us a general sense about how a literal interpretation leaves some loose ends. Unfortunately these questions still seem to be unanswered and the likelihood of finding an answer will probably only diminish as we move farther from the ‘Fall’ itself. Inquiries like these have tended to lead to the second point of view.

The second perspective has many arguments but it could be summed up as the following: Too many aspects of this story contradict how we now understand the universe, the world, and the way nature works. Most of the story has never been reliably recorded in a way that we can be certain of its validity. Therefore, the story is not true and has little or no relevance to life in the modern world. It can best be understood as an explanation to the origins of life that was created in a time where people’s knowledge about the workings of the physical universe was limited.

Unfortunately, both of these perspectives seem to give little relevance to the story in the modern world. If it is a literal story about our origins, what does that mean to us in our daily lives? If it is just a story from a previous era, what significance does it have in this modern period? Fortunately, there is at least one more point of view to consider. The story can be seen in terms of symbolism and metaphor, in which case it relates to both of the previous two perspectives and our lives today.

Considering the first perspective, since the bible and many other religious texts are generally series of stories, it is likely that they have always been intended to be understood symbolically. If this was not the case, why wouldn’t these books simply be a list of rules? What would be the point of communicating through stories? Reflecting on the second perspective, thinking in metaphorical terms would mean that the aspects of the story that do not concur with our modern view do not necessarily negate the value or meaning of the story itself. In fact, there is a chance that the Garden of Eden refers to actual events in history, symbolically. Devaluing everything about the story because certain parts may not be literally ‘true’ would be a classic example of “throwing the baby out with the bath water”.

Since a number of meanings could be drawn when considering any story in metaphorical terms, it must be mentioned that this is just one interpretation. Many other analyses could be considered and do exist, but that will not stop this particular thought experiment from continuing.

Starting historically, Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden could represent a particular period of world history. At one point in time, humans lived as nomadic people, wondering around forests that were much more plentiful than any we can imagine today. Wildlife and vegetation covered a significant percentage of the world and this lush setting could be symbolized by the “Garden of Eden”. At one point humans, or our evolutionary ancestors, certainly did not wear clothing and thought nothing of it, just like Adam and Eve. Simultaneously, they had no thought of ‘good’ or ‘evil’ because they lived completely at the whim of nature like all the other animals. Consciously speaking, humans were probably rather similar to other primates, but were on the brink of some major realizations. All humans of this era are represented in the story as Adam and Eve.

So the Garden can represent nature, and Adam and Eve can be the symbol for all humans in this era of limited consciousness or self-awareness. Perhaps the next question could be: What does God then symbolize? Well in the story God created Adam and Eve, the Garden, and everything else. Metaphorically speaking, God then could represent the energy that led to all things existing. In all likelihood this energy probably erupted long before the Garden of Eden in the Big Bang. It probably did not happen in an instant, but rather over the course of about 14 billion years which led to the precise setting of this particular story. People who made the story, and who were more conscious than the humans represented by Adam and Eve, were indeed attempting to explain the origins of humans. Considering the evidence available to them at that time they thought back to the earliest conceivable setting, the Garden of Eden, and thought that this must be the origin of time. Since they could not think of anything before that, this HAD to be the moment of creation. In this sense, everything that happened before this time leading back to the Big Bang was squeezed into one moment. That energy, symbolized as God, was responsible for setting the stage and providing the characters.

Next then we must look at the Fruit of Knowledge, the Fall from Eden, and what they might represent. Again, considering these symbolically may yield the most significance. After eating this Fruit, Adam and Eve could never return to the Garden, but why? Well the Fruit of Knowledge is often represented as the knowledge of good and evil, but it can also be considered in terms of self-awareness and self-other awareness. Consider again how humans had a consciousness that was rather similar to other animals. This means at some point, people were generally unaware of themselves, did not or could not self-reflect, and could not deeply understand that others were also human like themselves that experienced the same emotions and had the same experiences.They completely lacked the ability to take others’ perspectives. At some period of time later, people could do all of those things. Eating the Fruit of knowledge then can represent the transitioned from this animal-like consciousness to the beginnings of human consciousness and self-awareness. Again, this probably did not happen in a single instance as quickly as it takes one to eat a piece of fruit. Instead this transition may have occurred over tens or even hundreds of thousands of years. However, when one considers the event long after it occurred, the length of the transition is inconceivable and can then be condensed into a single miraculous moment.

Once humans begin to look around with this new sense of self-awareness and ability to think abstractly, they essentially ‘step out of the forest’ as people for the first time. They cease to live in the same way as the other animals, being subjected to the whim of nature. They can use this thinking to understand and manipulate their environment, and to plan into the future. This ‘stepping out of the forest’ is the Fall from Eden, and once people become self-aware, they can never go back to being unaware. This is why eating the Fruit of Knowledge expels them from the Garden forever. It’s impossible to unlearn, to undo the act of becoming self-aware.

Then there is the snake that whispers in the ears of these early humans to tempt them into doing that which is forbidden. Well, with this new knowledge of self and other, there becomes a concept of ‘good’ and ‘evil’ or ‘right’ and ‘wrong’. People before the Fall had no conception of right and wrong, similar to a lion or wolf. After eating the Fruit of Knowledge, this type of thinking does exist. The snake is generally used to represent the Devil in western cultures. Both the Devil and the snake in this story likely represent the Ego that lies within everyone. It’s the voice in everyone’s head that encourages them towards that which is forbidden. In most wisdom traditions from Buddhism, to Judaism, to Islam, to Christianity, self-control is held above giving in to desires. Often controlling these internal urges is a significant focal point of spiritual practices. The snake was probably added to this story in order to communicate a symbolic moral struggle that exists within everyone. Do we honor God and resist the temptation of the forbidden fruit? Or do we give in to the ego, the Devil, and self-indulge.

Lastly, does this story have any significance to life in the modern world? I believe understanding the Garden of Eden symbolically can give the story new life. Any time anyone is unaware of something, they are in the Garden of Eden, but they can step out at any moment simply by learning more about the subject. They say ignorance is bliss. That’s because when you do not know, everything just is the way it is and there is nothing to do about it. Stepping out of the Garden requires new knowledge, a new awareness, and with it comes added responsibility. It comes at the price of the knowledge of ‘good’ and ‘evil’. Becoming increasingly aware is little more than recognizing relationships between things. So the farther we step out of the Garden, the more we become aware how our own actions affect other people, other animals, the environment in general, and how all those things affect us. Every day we continue to acquire new experiences which bring new knowledge and awareness, but we then must make the choice of how we use that information. Do we give into selfish desires of the Ego, or do we honor a higher sense of being through self-control. That decision is certainly up to every individual and depends on the specifics of any given situation. The important thing to note is that every “ah-ha” moment, where the world makes a little more sense, is the feeling of stepping just a little farther out of the Garden.

So while this analysis is sure to ruffle a few feathers of both the traditionally religious conservative and the analytically oriented scientific, there is some good news. Both of your perspectives are correct, and they do not conflict with each other. This story does indeed refer to real events, simply not in real time. It points to the period in history in which people transitioned from what we might consider animal-like states of consciousness to an orientation that is more reflective, self-aware, and specific to only people. The forces that some call God do exist. There is an undeniable energy that runs through the universe; that energyresulted in the creation of all matter, biological life, and the emergence of consciousness. Though there is much evidence to suggest that they did not happen in the time periods suggested in religious texts, if we look at the events symbolically, we can see they do pertain to aspects of reality. Regardless of how people come to understand the universe and their existence in it, as humans we all experience the same things. We may have different words to interpret these experiences (i.e. spirituality, consciousness, or psychological processes) but our experiences run parallel to each other. We simply must learn to identify with, understand, and empathize with one another because in the end we are all in it together.