The Genesis of Humanity

The early chapters of Genesis tell the story of how humanity became reasonable and self-conscious; how humans moved into agriculture; how humans faced hardship during the early stages of sedentary living, and how they started to build civilization by working together. It is simultaneously a reflection on human history and what it means to be human. Roughly, Genesis 2-11 represents three phases in human history: 1) The distant past, 2) The early era of agriculture, 3) Complex civilizations. In the beginning, Adam and Eve eat from the tree of knowledge, which symbolizes the development of the rational agency. After eating from the tree of knowledge, Adam and Eve start to wear clothes, depicting self-consciousness. They become aware of their mortality and experience self-conscious emotions like shame and guilt. But they also gain rationality, culture, and civilization. I explain the myths of Genesis by discussing human ancestry and modern anthropological discoveries. It is not my intent to argue that the ancient Israelites knew about the southern apes or Homo erectus. However, it does seem that the ancient Israelites understood that there had once been humans who did not have language, reason, temporal awareness, morality, or culture. They had a rudimentary understanding of humanity having emerged from an original, instinctual state of being. This is depicted in Genesis as paradise.