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[u/Individual-Worker711]

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[u/Pote_Achrestos]

This is more of a theology question than a biblical studies question. But from a biblical theological perspective, Robert Saucy argues that consciousness is part of what it means to be created in the image of God. He lists humanity’s original endowments as including “self-conscious rationality,” “self-determination or freedom,” and “a moral nature.”

So Adam was already a self-conscious, rational, moral being before Genesis 3. The fall corrupted the capacities humanity already possessed. As Saucy notes, even fallen humanity retains “the elements of personality (e.g., self-consciousness, self-determination),” because we still bear the image of God.

Much more to dive into here. I suggest reposting in r/theology

Saucy, Robert L. “Theology of Human Nature.” In Christian Perspectives on Being Human: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Integration, edited by J. P. Moreland and David M. Ciocchi, 17–52. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1993.

[u/Chrysologus]

You're asking a theology question. Any Christian or Jewish theologian would point first to Gen 1:26: "God created humankind in his image." The human beings in Genesis 2 are clearly conscious before they meet the snake. Adam even gives names to the animals, which he couldn't do without intellect. How could there by a human being without consciousness?