On the Knowledge of Good & Evil

How morality blinds us as children and traumatizes us as adults

Link to the original essay

As adults, we understand quite vividly that evil exists.

When we are children, by contrast, we naively believe the world is a place of pure goodness. The knowledge which marks the passing from childhood to adulthood is when we truly realize the existence of evil in the world. For most of us, this is when we experience either evil-itself, through the unfairness and malevolence of others and/or society, or, when we see those we love experience it, and suffer from such experiences.

When we are exposed to evil, that is the universal rite of passage; it is when we pass from idealism to realism. It is when we realize that life is a constant challenge — one which will either eat us alive or one we shall conquer. Such knowledge might feel like it necessitates our psychic/spiritual death, but it does not: indeed, it might very well lead to a transformation in our being, into a profound becoming.

The Knowledge of Good & Evil

We can see this in the book of Genesis. Adam and Eve prior to the serpent’s manipulation to eat from the tree of knowledge were naive and ignorant. They lived in a state of bliss. Indeed, what they resemble is how children behave and think. The serpent — often a mythological representation of primordial-being/chaos — was the imposition of Being-itself unto Adam and Eve. The serpent represented the catalyst in all of our lives: the coming to know good and evil.

What does this knowledge entail in our actual lives? Generally, it is the worst lesson one can learn. In our naive state-of-being, we see no dichotomy of good and evil; rather, we simply — and foolishly — see what is good. Knowledge of good and evil as a dichotomy is only truly seen when we come into contact with evil.

The Lessons of Evil

There are two such instances that are tangible in our common experiences. The first is the fact that even if you follow all of the rules, work hard and do everything you can to succeed in your pursuits, it is still quite possible for you to fail and even to fail miserably. Meritocracy is simply an ideal we as a society fail to live up to. Some of the hardest working folks alive are those who are at the bottom of our class-based society.

We can see this in the book of Job. Job does absolutely everything right. Yet, God makes his life a living hell. We need not believe in a volitional God to see that such a story can be a true story: sometimes, our efforts simply amount to nothing, or even worse. That is just the nature of Being.

The next is the fact that those who you love deeply — and indeed, by all appearances, have every reason to love deeply — can betray you in the worst possible manner. Again, to refer to the book of Genesis, this is evident in the story of Cain and Abel. Abel being murdered by his brother and all. But, again, we need not believe in a volitional God who accepts the offerings of one brother over another in order to see this in our lives. Families can be toxic and abusive; friends can be bullies and enablers; lovers can be cheaters and liers.

The New and Old Testament Views

At one point or another, we will all learn these lessons. How then should we move forward? Well, there are two options here, and they are both illuminated in the bible. The first is what I shall call the New Testament Option: this option is to turn the other cheek and simply give up; to embrace your weakness and to give no thought for the morrow. It is a form of asceticism. It is in some sense to follow in the vein of Apostle Paul.

The other option, however, is what I shall call the Old Testament Option: in all instances whereby God imposed chaos unto the Jews in the Old Testament, the Jews did not yield; rather, they continued to strive to persevere in their Being, as Spinoza might say. They did not allow the terrible lessons of life to wallop them into a state of inertia or self-pity. Instead, they used it as the impotence to strengthen their wills.

Indeed, in the book of Genesis, there is deep wisdom in the words of the serpent:

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God say, 'You shall not eat from any tree in the garden'?" The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die. '" But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not die; [3:5] for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3:1–5)

Knowledge of good and evil does not necessitate a decay in your being. Rather, it may very well be the best thing that ever happens to you. It is the process whereby our primordial being is overcome by becoming something more. It is how we become human; it is how we develop the capacity for compassion, forgiveness, and empathy — for, we know that if we do not receive such regard from others, how could we survive? Such knowledge readily extends to others.

The latter option is how we ought to respond to the tragic lessons of life. It is, in a sense, to Become rather than to Be.