2:9d and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

A Multidisciplinary Contextualized Analysis of Select Passages From Genesis Version 2.0

[This is an excerpt from a new edition I’m writing of a personal study of the book of Genesis, the first edition of which can be found here. The purpose of this exercise is to compare a close reading of the text to our current understanding of language, paleontology, and the physical sciences. Constructive discussion on the elements presented is always encouraged!]

To claim that the knowledge of good and evil is something that can be imbued suggests that they are absolutes. That humanity seems to struggle with how to assign these qualities definitively suggests that ethical positions are relative and dynamic. Yet even the atheistic seem quick to agree that the latter six of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:2-17) are common sense policies, as is the morally contructive position to “love your neighbor as yourself.” (Leviticus 19:18). Any and all who would concur that the actions forbidden are “evil” and those moral prescriptions are “good” therefore support the premise of absolute good and evil.

To be clear, ethical relativism is a falsehood that society uses to excuse deviations it makes from common sense and absolute moral qualifiers for what is good or evil. For example, the consequentialist statement “the ends justify the means” is at odds with the Ten Commandments by suggesting that the “good” of an action is retroactive to its results. Also known as instrumental convergence, this dysfunctional ethic perpetuates unsustainable perverse incentives undermining any “good” intention.

Sigmund Freud’s psychological premise of Id, Ego, and Superego describes a hierarchy of ethical judgment. Where the most basic immediate wants are governed by one’s Id, consideration for one’s needs in the longer term or as part of a community requires the Ego. Yet to consider the wellbeing of others beyond or even above oneself is considered a function of the Super Ego. It was his position that we are not born with a developed Ego or Superego, but that they develop best with consistent parental examples. Without adequate development, one will either have a weak moral framework or the inability to control their Id impulses despite having the capacity for moral judgment.

Although Freud’s analyses are not the only ones on the subject, most sincere attempts to qualify how one would seek to excuse behavior that is clearly at odds with common sense morals touches on the same premises. What humans share with sentient animals is an innate desire to fulfil one’s compulsions. These are most commonly for survival and procreation which are amoral without context. But to secure a mate and participate in a community requires a minimum of constructive behavior which may appear moral but is essentially instrumental convergence to maintain or procure status. It is only by critically evaluating the consequences of behaviors beyond individual interest that one can develop knowledge of what is good and what is evil.

Physiologically, different cognitive functions are largely associated to brainwave frequencies that we can now measure. In brief, these include:

• Delta (0.5–4 Hz) - deep sleep, unconscious processes, instinct

• Theta (4–8 Hz) - Creativity, intuition, emotional processing

• Alpha (8–12 Hz) - Relaxation, inhibition

• Beta (12–30 Hz) - Active thinking, problem-solving

• Gamma ( 30–100 Hz) - Critical and moral thinking, self-awareness

Similar to Id, Ego, and Superego of analytical psychology, the functions supported by these various brainwaves to form a complete construct of thinking. Also, as the Freudian hierarchy develops with age, so too is access to higher brainwave frequencies attributed to physiological development. Scientifically speaking, one might be able to comply with rules deemed to be moral in childhood, but they are physiologically limited in the capacity to make assertions regarding what is in fact good or evil before mental adulthood.

In the case of Adam, the knowledge of good and evil is effectively the lack of capacity to engage in critical moral thinking. In other words, from the evidence presented in Genesis chapter 2, Adam and Eve appear to be incapable of fully accessing Gamma brainwave-related functions. Deficiencies in certain neurotransmitters (dopamine, acetylcholine, glutamate) may inhibit Gamma-related advanced cognitive processes like critical thinking, complex problem-solving, and memory integration. Despite such a deficiency, they could still exhibit normal thinking associated with all of the other wavelengths, like problem-solving and creativity, but be limited in their critical thinking, self-awareness, and sexual expression.

The question then is, if Adam was subject to such a neurotransmitter deficiency, could the consumption of a therapeutic food enable a rapid change in cognition? Although Genesis 3:7 does not place a timeframe on their “awakening”, there is also no clear statement requiring it to be instantaneous. That being said, corrective supplementation for deficient neurotransmitters is known to have a notable effect within days to weeks. If this change in brain chemistry enabled Adam and Eve to come to gain self-awareness and ethical conclusions that they had not considered previously, that they have formed those conclusions will forever impact their understanding.

God made freely available in Eden the capacity to know good and evil as the Gamma enabled Superego allows us to. However, that apparently is the same capacity that inhibits an unrestricted close-proximity relationship with Him. Whether it is due to a physiological incompatibility between His energy and Gamma wavelengths themselves or the quality of thoughts that those wavelengths enable, there is a strict procedure and “clean” state of body and mind required to be in His presence.

The knowledge of good and evil is not only demonstrably real, but a driving topic of the roughly 700,000 words in the Bible. That Adam was chemically deficient of this level of critical understanding and that nutrition would be able to correct it in short order is entirely plausible by current scientific knowledge.