Seven Deadly Sins
The Biology of Being Human
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- £6.99
Publisher Description
'Has the power to change the way you look at the world' Steven Bartlett
'The heir to Oliver Sacks' David Baddiel
A FINANCIAL TIMES BEST BOOK OF 2024
AN INDEPENDENT BOOK OF THE MONTH
Gluttony. Greed. Sloth. Pride. Envy. Lust. Anger.
These are the seven deadly sins, the vices of humankind that define immorality, the roots of all evil in the world. Or so some believe.
But do these sins really represent moral failings, or are they simply human functions that aid us? Are they just the result of how our bodies, psyches, and brains in particular, are wired?
This new book by Dr Guy Leschziner, a professor of neurology and sleep medicine, explores the underlying nature of the seven deadly sins, their neuroscientific and psychological basis, their origin in our genes and crucially how certain medical disorders give rise to them.
Drawing on his clinical practice, we meet individuals whose physical and psychological conditions have given rise to these sins, where brain injury or other experiences have sparked ‘immoral’ actions. He explores how illness can simply expose what lies within us and investigates how the origins of these traits lie in evolutionary imperatives to preserve the wellbeing of the tribe. Perhaps, he suggests, these character traits are less of a moral question and more biological, which raises fundamental issues of responsibility and blame in the face of ‘sin’.
Combining cutting-edge science placed in the context of real-life experience with patients, the book reexamines where the boundaries between normal human nature, pathology and sin are drawn. And, most importantly, whether these hard-wired traits truly represent sin, or simply the intensity of our intrinsic desire to survive and thrive.
About the author
Guy Leschziner is a professor of neurology and sleep medicine at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospitals, and the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London. In addition to many academic papers and books, he is author of The Nocturnal Brain – Nightmares, Neuroscience, The Secret World of Sleep, and The Man Who Tasted Words. He has presented three series on neuroscience for BBC Radio 4 and World Service.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Humanity's "less savoury tendencies" drive "our survival and success," according to this stimulating treatise from neurologist Leschziner (The Nocturnal Brain). Unpacking this theory through the lens of Dante's seven deadly sins, the author considers how "gluttony" and its "visible signature," obesity, aided human survival by providing extra energy stores in times of famine; how pride "mak us feel that our achievements are under our own control, hence pushing us to persevere"; and how wrath can serve as a valuable "motivator, a drive to continue striving to reach one's objective." According to Leschziner, such personality traits are rooted in a complex constellation of genetic and environmental factors generally outside of one's control. His argument raises complicated questions about free will that he explores in a thought-provoking discussion of whether traditional binaries of good and evil should be used to evaluate moral decision-making if one's choices stem from immutable biological drives (though he stops short of embracing a fully deterministic view). Vivid patient anecdotes appear throughout, including the story of a woman with a syndrome that causes uncontrollable hunger, which Leschziner utilizes to illustrate the complex factors that underlie appetite, making weight loss "rarely so simple" as deciding to eat less and move more. Replete with fascinating forays into neurology, morality, and pathology, this is a captivating glimpse at the mysteries of the mind.
