An allegory can be interpreted to have an underlying meaning, it is a metaphor with meaning or a parable. If I were interpret Genesis 2-3 allegorically, I would make the case that it serves as the etiology of several things like marriage and reveals the origin of the physical world and mortality. But I would like to propose that Genesis 2-3 illustrates the Neolithic Revolution, the emergence of farming. This is obviously very farfetched but allow me to elaborate. In the Neolithic Revolution, human being began to domestic plants and animals and move away from the life of hunting and gathering. No one knows why this happened, in fact, the odds are against it. Hunting and gathering requires less work and less dependance on weather conditions. A life of hunting and gathering is similar to life as described in Eden. But in both cases, something happened and humans became farmers, whether quickly or slowly. Some believe that climate change or population growth was the cause, and this may very well be. Perhaps the changing climate was attributed to or personified as 'God'. God or climate change forced them to leave the life of hunting and gathering to work the ground. There are of course many holes in this theory. For example, what about the snake? What about the tree of life? Why would people have thought the climate was punishing them and how does that relate to the eating of the forbidden fruit? Nevertheless, this is an interesting thing to think about and that is how I view this story as an allegory.
According to Philo's allegorical interpretation, the Garden of Eden is the source of all wickedness. He believes that man in solitude was blameless, resembling the cosmos and God. But when a woman was created, man was glad to see another being like her. There being together produced love, unity and a desire for union in order to produce children. Philo says that this desire lead to bodily pleasure from which came 'wicked deeds and violations of the law'. This is how they lost their immortality. Origen agrees with the the idea that bodily pleasures lead to wickedness. He writes that if the soul turns to the inclinations of the desires of the flesh, it will be called a harlot.
To be honest I do not understand the other reads we were assigned for this assignment. I do not understand the other Philo passage nor how the Aristolte relates to Philo.
Nice try on reading the Eden story allegorically. As you note, it's virtually impossible to include every detail.
ReplyDeleteIt would have been easier to understand all the readings if you had broken down the allegory into its elements, into what/who stands for what or whom. Aristotle is the basis for the development of the concept of 'laws of nature' (Philo was apparently the first to actually use the term) and his thinking dominated philosophy/theology until the Reformation. You can see his ideas reflected in Philo, and through both Aristotle and Philo, in the Christian theologian Origen.