I believe Adam and Eve is a metaphor, not a literal account. In my examination of all sorts of religions, I found some rabbi's have the most intriguing explanation of the Adam and Eve story.
They believe it is an allegory about the creation of man, but about when humans first attained a certain degree of spiritual awareness and civilization. It's only in that sense that people in the "cradle of civilization" became the first humans to acquire writing, reading, and it led to, for better or worse, the first attempts to organize spirituality, make religions, politicize them, whatever. Ideas about "paradise" utopian rewards, heaven, afterlife, all that probably became more consolidated during this time in human progress, too, along with the wheel, taming animals, agriculture, all the trappings of civlization.
That's actually pretty well backed up by archaeology.
Looked at that way, Eden simply becomes one of the many allegories where man wishes to return to the relative simplicity and closeness to nature we all had as small nomadic tribes of hunter gatherers, before formal governing arrangements, cities, formal codes of laws and religion. Ever notice how that spiritually focuses people to get away from it all? Hence the cruise, camping, retreats to the desert, spas where people go on nature walks, resorts built around hot springs (which were invariable sacred to early man), eating very simple foods, even cooking over a fire.
As Joseph Campbell, the reknowned professor of mythology said, "We're all just trying to get back into the garden." One of my favorite quotes.
The "eating of the fruit" becomes a metaphor for gaining civilization and with it, gradually losing our innocence and awe about the world around us.
But I believe we were intended to do so, it's just part of the gradual self awareness of the human race. Oh, I believe in a First Cause, an Eternal God but not the JW God, and certainly not the degree of Biblical literalism that the Witnesses indulge in.
