On the Knowledge of Good & Evil

The hardest lessons you are not taught growing up.

Daniel Lehewych, M.A
The Apeiron Blog
Photo by Madalyn Cox on Unsplash

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…

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Published in The Apeiron Blog

An easy to read philosophical space that aims to elicit discussion and debate on matters of the universe.

Written by Daniel Lehewych, M.A

Philosopher | Author | Bylines: Big Think, Newsweek, PsychCentral

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