Positive and Negative Aspects of Desire for Knowledge: Understanding Adam and Eve's Disobedience

Running head: POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE ASPECTS OF DESIRE FOR KNOWLEDGE
POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE ASPECTS OF DESIRE FOR KNOWLEDGE
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

1
POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE ASPECTS OF DESIRE FOR KNOWLEDGE
Introduction
The story of Adam and Eve’s disobedience of the Commandment of God, not to eat the
apple from the Tree of Knowledge has laid the foundation of the argument concerning the desire
for knowledge. The consequence was that there “eyes were opened” and they learned new
experiences after eating the apple1. They learned about the good, the evil, life and death amongst
other things.
The aim of this essay is to bring to light the episode of Adam and Eve’s disobedience to
God and their ultimate death due to their desire for knowledge to explain the positives and
negatives of this desire. The chief purpose of the essay is to argue that the desire for knowledge
has positive aspects that overwhelm even the negative aspects. While Adam and Eve committed
a sin not obeying the God, it was necessary for the human kind to understand and experience
everything.
The significance of the desire for knowledge in the present age has increased because of the
ever-growing competitive world. Nonetheless, a thin line is there between knowing everything
and knowing things that matter. This is, some critics argue, one of the negative aspects of the
desire for knowledge.
Discussion
Adam and Eve’s disobedience
1 "Curses Or Consequences: Did God Really Curse Adam And Eve?", Spiritual Insights For Everyday Life, 2019
<https://leewoof.org/2013/02/12/curses-or-consequences-did-god-really-curse-adam-and-eve/> [Accessed 9
February 2019].

2
POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE ASPECTS OF DESIRE FOR KNOWLEDGE
Genesis 3:6-7 of the bible gives account of the episode where Adam eats the apple from
the tree of knowledge of good and evil after Eve prompts him to do so2. The genesis gives
elaborate description of the way Eve sees the tree and then asks her husband to pluck fruits from
it. Then they both eat the fruit and “their eyes are opened”. They find themselves naked and feel
ashamed. They sew fig leaves to cover themselves up. Here, it is important to mention that prior
to eating the fruit, both Adam and eve had no shame staying together naked but the feelings
changed after they ate the fruit. The statement that “their eyes were opened” gives an ambiguous
sense to the readers because they could not understand if it is literal or metaphorical. Hans A
Thorner, provides some explanation that make the meaning clear. According to the author, Adam
and Eve’s eyes were closed to the complexities of the world, they were innocent and blind to any
corruption of the mind, or of the body3. The author states that it was established in the earlier
verses of the bible that neither Adam nor Eve was blind. Adam had seen the tree in the garden
before and the animals; he also saw Eve ad recognized her as his own part. Eve had seen the tree
possessing some qualities a few amongst which were visible to the naked eye. It proves that Eve
too had her eyes opened. Therefore, the “eyes” referred to the metaphorical eyes of Adam and
Eve that were opened after they ate the forbidden fruit. The “opened eyes” could also be
associated with the gaining of knowledge4.
Positive effects of the desire for knowledge
Joshua J Clarkson, Chris Janiszewski and Melissa D. Cinelli make a good point when
they state that the desire for knowledge is the most natural instinct for any human being. They
2 Ibid 1
3 Thorner, Hans, A. "Notes on the desire for knowledge." International Journal of Psycho-Analysis 62 (1981), 73-80.
4 Ortlund, Dane C. "" And Their Eyes Were Opened, and They Knew": An Inter-canonical Note on Luke 24: 31."
Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 53.4 (2010), 717.