Temptation
Chapter 3 records what happened when the primitive instinct to reproduce was aroused by the allure of the pleasure to be had by indulging in the act of reproduction not for the main purpose of reproduction but with the principal aim of deriving physical pleasure from the act. It is appropriate here to quote again from the great Jewish philosopher Philo Judaeus of Alexandria: For other animals pursue pleasure only in taste and in the acts of generation; but man aims at it by means of his other senses also devoting himself to whatever sights or sounds can impart pleasure to his eyes or ears."1 Chapter 3 deals with the transformation of the former to the latter. We should set out the whole account of this transformation: Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman Yea hath God said Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden God hath said Ye shall not eat of it neither shall ye touch it lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof then your eyes shall be opened and ye shall be as gods knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was pleasant to the eyes and a tree to be desired to make one wise she took of the fruit thereof and did eat and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons."2 Before considering these verses it is important to remember that we are looking at the symbolism of what is being said. But there can be little doubt that the symbolism relates to real events. These verses symbolize the conflict between primitive human instincts and the promptings of the neurological moral network as it arose in the first of the species. A picture is painted of a woman wrestling with the allure of pleasure by indulging in an act which her conscience is telling her is wrong. She is fantasizing; but about what? Well it is impossible to ignore the phallic imagery of the speaking serpent so the most plausible explanation is that she is fantasizing about sex. We should also remember that it was very likely that these early humans would have been living with or at least in close proximity to the species from which they had emerged and even other species of primates that were genetically very similar to them. And these other species would also have been naked." And more tellingly these other primates would have indulged in sex quite openly and casually as they do today. But at this stage a number of characteristics had developed in the early human species which distinguished them from other primates. First they had developed a higher level of communication as well as a more advanced capacity to reason. But they also had a partially activated neurological moral network which acted as a restraint on their actions by arousing a sense of conscience. However the woman would have enjoyed the pleasure of intimacy with Adam. And this would have acted as a spark to ignite her imagination to consider ways to enhance the pleasure derived from sexual intimacy. And her capacity to reason would have been eager to tender suggestions and justifications. There would have been plenty of examples in the behavior of the more primitive primates living in close proximity. Thus the imagery of the account of the woman being tempted by the serpent is not hard to translate into a real picture. Although constrained by her moral impulses to refrain from sexual encounters other than with Adam by observing the casual sexual interplay of primates around her the woman began to fantasize about what it would be like to do the same. She started to imagine what forbidden pleasures could be had if she just suppressed the feelings of guilt aroused by such fantasies. No doubt she would have questioned why it would be wrong for her to do what the other primates were doing. There was no consequence to them for doing it so what could happen to her? Her reasoning appears to have gone into overdrive to justify doing what she knew would be wrong by suppressing the restraint and guilt demanded by her newly acquired moral aptitude.Succumbing to Temptation activates the Neurological Moral Network
In the end the woman succumbed to the allure of the pleasures to be had by indulging her sexual fantasies she took of the fruit thereof and did eat." And by employing the newly acquired ability to combine reason with an ability to communicate the woman persuaded her husband" to do the same. What they did it can only be concluded is indulge in sexual encounters with members of the other species around them and no doubt with other newly formed humans if and when they encountered them. Now many reading all this about a woman fantasizing about imitating the sexual practices of apes and engaging in sexual encounters with them will no doubt ridicule the whole interpretation. So what evidence is there that human beings could act in such a manner either back then or now? Well plenty actually. Lets start with the fantasy part and humans looking to apes for moral inspiration. And for that we need look no further than a professor of philosophy no less - AC Grayling. In his book The God Argument The Case against religion and for Humanism Grayling claims that the arts (books music films and so on) demonstrate the importance of intimate physical relationships to human beings but laments that the traditional moral consensus that sex should be limited to one other person in a bonding for life somehow inhibits what he calls human flourishing."3 So Grayling cites the behavior of bonobo chimpanzees as a model for a better approach. Being the primates most like humans Grayling says that the bonobos equivalent of shaking hands is to engage in sex casually and often.4 Grayling thus claims that pleasure is good and sexual pleasure is very good."5 According to him this all means that sex only becomes a problem when it is rationed and starved."6 So his solution is sexual experimentation. And with a lot of practice Grayling claims that humans can better learn to love and be loved.7 But if anyone inhibits your sexual self-indulgence such as a wife or children then they need to be made to understand that some human beings have certain needs and interests" which the victims simply have to accept and tolerate … and be open-minded" about.8 And it is belief in God (religion) that Grayling claims inhibits this kind of sexual indulgence in the pursuit of human flourishing". Graylings philosophy is really based on a simple premise why shouldnt we behave like animals? So we see that what is said to have aroused the first woman and the reasoning employed to justify indulging that arousal is something that has stayed with many of the species up to this very day. And Grayling is not unique in that regard; it is not an uncommon phenomenon. Marketing companies exploit the human obsession with sex to sell everything from ice-cream to motor cars. But is there any evidence that the first humans did interbreed with other primates? Again the answer is yes. In an article in the online journal Public Library of Science (PLoS) Dr Paola Villa of the University of Colorado Museum and Professor Wil Roebroeks of Lieden University say that current genetic data suggest that complex processes of interbreeding and assimilation may have been responsible for the disappearance of the specific Neandertal morphology from the fossil record." In their conclusion they say that The momentous cultural changes that followed the arrival of AMH (anatomically modern humans) in Western Eurasia were not uniquely due to the residents cognitive or technological inferiority causing rapid and total replacement. The Neandertal demise appears to have resulted from a complex and protracted process including multiple dynamic factors such as low population density interbreeding with some cultural contact possible male hybrid sterility and contraction in geographic distribution followed by genetic swamping and assimilation by the increasing numbers of modern immigrants." And Villa and Roebroeks cite evidence of this interbreeding in modern human beings: In 2010 a draft sequence of the Neandertal nuclear DNA provided clear evidence of interbreeding between Neandertals and modern humans estimating that Neandertal inheritance makes up 14 of the genomes of people outside of Africa. A revised estimate based on a high-coverage sequence of a Neandertal from the Altai Mountains now suggests 1.52.1."9 However clearly Genesis is not referring to this interbreeding between humans and Neandertals. The story of Adam and Eve relates to a much earlier time when humans were only just emerging as the species. The example of the interbreeding with Neandertals was simply a continuation of something that had started much earlier. The real significance of the story however lies in its explanation of how the neurological moral network in the human brain was initially fully activated and the central part played in that process by the human capacity to reason. The story demonstrates that reason can be applied to justify anything.Why was acquiring the knowledge of good and evil" wrong?
But if the tree of the knowledge of good and evil" symbolizes the neurological moral network why some will ask would it be wrong to acquire the knowledge of good and evil? The answer is that to awaken the neurological moral network the first human beings had to take some action which offended it. That produced a sense of guilt in the form of a conscience. And as we have seen according to Genesis the action that initially activated the neurological moral network related to pleasure the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was PLEASANT to the eyes and a tree to be DESIRED to make one wise …"10 As Philo says anyone who follows a reasonable train of conjecture will say with great propriety that the … serpent is the symbol of pleasure." And he goes on to say that the serpent is said to have uttered a human voice because pleasure employs innumerable champions and defenders who take care to advocate its interests and who dare to assert that the power over everything both small and great does of right belong to it without any exception whatever."11 So the story of Eves (the womans"12) temptation clearly refers to the interaction between morality instinct and reason. The serpent represents the instinct for reproduction. The symbolism of the serpent speaking relates to the allure of pleasure to be had by indulging the instinct for reproduction. And Eve seeing that the tree was good for food and that it was pleasant to the eyes and a tree to be desired to make one wise she took of the fruit thereof …" symbolizes the application of reason to justify taking actions that we know are wrong. The prohibition against eating of the tree represents morality. It is the neurological moral network within the brain that speaks to us of the morality of certain actions and acts as a restraint to actions which offend against it if we listen. However until this moment the neurological moral network was subconscious.Consequences of activating the neurological moral network
Once the first humans succumbed to the allure of the pleasure to be had by indulging their primitive instinct for reproduction the neurological moral network was fully activated. This is symbolized by the words and the eyes of them both were opened and they knew that they were naked."13 They realized then that they were different to the other species around them even those most like them and that it was not appropriate to simply imitate animal behavior. However Genesis tells us that once the neurological moral network had been offended it gave rise to a sense of guilt and Adam and Eve are said to do what people do to this day in order to justify their actions; they hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the Garden." They attempted to escape the guilt aroused by their actions by seeking justification in their primitive instincts; in the trees of the garden." As we have already seen the trees in the garden symbolize human instincts amongst which is the instinct to reproduce. So when they are plagued by a sense of guilt they seek to justify their actions by reference to their instincts. They reason their way to a justification by attempting to convince themselves that they should not feel guilty because what they did was perfectly natural just like the animals around them. But clearly the guilt could not be easily silenced. And so like today they started the blame-game Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed the serpent. In excusing her behavior by claiming that the serpent beguiled" her the woman is essentially seeking to defend her actions by saying that the attractions of the pleasures she imagined could be had by indulging her primitive instincts were so strong as to be irresistible. So she should not be to blame. It was simply a natural response to a natural desire much like AC Grayling. But of course it was all to no avail. Once they had crossed the moral threshold no longer did they simply respond to an intuitive restraint to their actions from the neurological moral network. They had acquired an ability to identify specific actions as right or wrong. Yet they were seduced by the allure of the pleasure to be had by indulging their primitive instincts as humans are today. So they mobilized their enhanced capacity to reason to seek justification for doing that which their neurological moral network told them was wrong.The Legacy
The punishment that God is said to inflict on them clearly symbolizes the conflict that has plagued the descendants of Adam and Eve from that moment on a conflict between servicing their primitive instincts or servicing the promptings of their neurological moral network. We can see that the punishment puts enmity" between the attractions of pleasure to be had by indulging primitive instincts like those of reproduction and the consequences of doing so. The punishment said to have been inflicted on Adam clearly relates to human beings falling into bondage to their primitive instincts. From that moment on human beings would be driven to provide for their survival and security by relentless toil. The instincts for survival and security generate a fear of being unable to provide for themselves and a fear of anything and anyone perceived to be a threat. The words in sorrow shalt thou eat of the ground all the days of thy life"14 clearly refers to the instinct for security; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return unto the ground"15 clearly refers to the fear of death and the survival instinct. But there was a far more unpleasant consequence of this awakening of the morality module". The previous mental tranquility of intuitively refraining from actions because they knew they were wrong and responding to the promptings of their instincts only in taste and in the acts of generation" had been replaced with an obsessive preoccupation with the pleasures and fears aroused by those instincts. No longer were these first humans content to live day by day without the constant fear of want and death now they were consumed by a passion to indulge the demands of their instincts so as to alleviate their fears or feed their appetite for pleasure. As Philo said they had condemned themselves to an existence more miserable than death." From this point on Genesis and the Bible as a whole records the conflict between human instinct and morality as it plays out in historical context. And how human beings employ reason to justify doing wrong.Cain and Abel
So we see in the account of Cain and Abel that Abels endeavors were proving successful whereas Cains were modest. This fired insecurity in Cain and wounded his vanity. Abel was seen as a threat who had to be neutralized. The symbolism of God speaking to Cain to ask why he is angry relates to Cains neurological moral network intervening in an attempt to quell the anger. God says to Cain If thou doest well shalt thou not be accepted? And if thou doest not well sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire and thou shalt rule over him."16 The Hebrew for the last sentence actually says this: And subject unto thee shall be his desire and thou shalt rule over him." The message is quite clear Cain has a choice about how to act. One choice is acceptable or moral the other is wrong and will have consequences. The desire" to satisfy his instincts is under his control subject unto thee." And morality must rule over the desires of the instincts thou shalt rule over him." But like Eve Cain could not or would not listen to the moral voice within him and planned to slay Abel. We see that Cain talked with Abel" before he implemented his plan. This indicates that Cain was using reason and the ability to communicate in service of his primitive instincts and not in service of the moral law." And even once he had killed Abel his ability to reason seeks ways to deny responsibility saying he does not know where Abel is. Furthermore he also asks Am I my brothers keeper?" an instance of reason seeking to excuse accountability for the well-being of our fellow human beings. Cains reaction to the guilt that arises from his actions is first to lie then to justify the lie by reasoning that he is not responsible. We see in Cain a regrettable model for those who believe that satisfying their own needs and interests" at any cost is their primary duty in life and they reason their way to justifying whatever actions they take in pursuit of their goals. And their goals are always the same indulging their appetite for pleasure and relieving the fear of their insecurities; in short being in the service of their primitive instincts and silencing the voice of morality whenever it speaks. However Cain realizes that he cannot completely silence the voice of morality and finally acknowledges that Mine iniquity is greater than can be forgiven."17 And the only way he can live with the guilt of his conscience is to deny God - And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord."18 That it seems is the mark" which God is said to have put on Cain; the propensity to apply reason to justify the servicing of our primitive instincts in defiance of the moral law" which created us and which is within us. And humans accomplish that self-deception through the denial of a Supreme Law and thus a denial of God. In that way those who seek to impose their own authority and will on others are free to make such laws as best serve their own interests and to implement such measures as are necessary to compel others to submit to those laws. That is the meaning of Cain building a city which he names after his son Enoch.19 God is replaced with the pursuit of power and wealth to feed vanity and allay insecurity. However at the end of Chapter 4 the story reverts again to Adam and Eve. Eve conceives and gives birth to Seth and he has a son called Enos. And it is this strand of the genealogy of Adam and Eve that came to the realization that God is indispensable to human existence. That is because after the birth of Enos then men began to call on the name of the Lord." 20 And it is this strand of genealogy that leads to Abraham and on to Moses and the Ten Commandments. They were the keepers of the moral law that reveals Gods Will. It was through Abraham that all families of the earth shall be blessed."21 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice."22 The crucial words in that last verse are because thou hast obeyed my voice." It was this strand of the human species that stayed most obedient to the principles of the moral law"; and it seems most easily able to decipher it over the clatter of demands from our primitive instincts. Through Abrahams descendents Gods moral law would be revealed not just to the Israelites but to all humanity.Conclusion
Genesis Chapter 3 reveals a remarkable degree of insight by the author/s of Genesis into the workings of the human brain. However the most remarkable aspect of the story of Adam and Eve is the light it casts on the human capacity to reason. As the account shows reason can be applied equally for good or evil. More reason does not guarantee more benevolent and good outcomes; less reason doesnt automatically lead to malevolent or evil outcomes. Often it is the reverse as history reveals. The current consensus that reason can give us objective principles of morality is delusional. Reason is a neutral faculty. Its worth rests entirely on whether it is in the service of morality or in the service of primitive human instinct. That is the real message behind the story of Adam and Eve. And it is a message we should heed! In the next article we will discover how the author/s of Genesis could have had such a profound understanding of the working of the universe and of the human mind. ----------------------------------------------------------- This series of articles is based on the book A Final Theory of God by Joseph BH McMillan