Seven Deadly Sins: The Biology of Being Human

Neurologist Leschziner’s (The Man Who Tasted Words) latest work is a fascinating look at how neuroscience can unlock and offer insight into why people act the way they do. He uses the seven deadly sins—gluttony, greed, sloth, pride, envy, lust, and anger—as chapter topics and routes into explaining behavior patterns. Leschziner looks at myriad research fields ranging from epigenetics, which is the contention that generational trauma can be passed down and inherited, to the nature vs. nurture debate as a determiner of human behavior. He argues that the seven sins exist in humankind for evolutionary reasons. They have aided and led humans to become the planet’s prime species, but many of these predispositions are no longer useful. One example: members of hunter-gatherer societies once needed to store fat within their bodies for times of caloric shortages. Now that’s no longer required due to the abundance of food available to most humans it’s led to an alarming rise in obesity rates. Leschziner comes to some striking conclusions, such as that man is ruled by his emotions, which sometimes manifest too strongly and pose a threat.