Cory - Seriously? You say that as if you think the Garden of Eden narrative is super reasonable, and that any other explanation would be totally ridiculous. Since you asked, though, I have one...
Creatures which do not have instincts toward self preservation do not survive. Since well before the evolution of Homo Sapiens, virtually every living creature has had natural instincts for self preservation. Beyond that, the perspective of an individual creature is always its own. Cats don't know what it's like to be dogs, or even what it's like to be other cats. People don't know what it's like to be other people. Men don't know what it's like to be women, or different men from themselves. Thinking of yourself takes zero effort because you ARE yourself. Your own existence and condition are some of the first things anybody ever thinks about. Thinking of others is hard, because others are necessarily a mystery. You can't know how they feel or what they think except through deduction and study. Acting selfishly is natural, instinctive, and easy. Acting selflessly takes thought, consideration, and effort. Being a decent human being is acting against one's own urges to be self-centered, and thinking carefully about the way your actions will effect other people. Thinking is harder than not thinking. Doing something is harder than laying down. It's as simple as that.
Cory - Seriously? You say that as if you think the Garden of Eden narrative is super reasonable, and that any other explanation would be totally ridiculous. Since you asked, though, I have one...
Creatures which do not have instincts toward self preservation do not survive. Since well before the evolution of Homo Sapiens, virtually every living creature has had natural instincts for self preservation. Beyond that, the perspective of an individual creature is always its own. Cats don't know what it's like to be dogs, or even what it's like to be other cats. People don't know what it's like to be other people. Men don't know what it's like to be women, or different men from themselves. Thinking of yourself takes zero effort because you ARE yourself. Your own existence and condition are some of the first things anybody ever thinks about. Thinking of others is hard, because others are necessarily a mystery. You can't know how they feel or what they think except through deduction and study. Acting selfishly is natural, instinctive, and easy. Acting selflessly takes thought, consideration, and effort. Being a decent human being is acting against one's own urges to be self-centered, and thinking carefully about the way your actions will effect other people. Thinking is harder than not thinking. Doing something is harder than laying down. It's as simple as that.