From “Seven Deadly Sins: The Biology of Being Human” by Guy Leschziner
These human characteristics sit buried within us all, defined by our genes and by our evolution, moulded by our environment. As we will see, their omnipresence implies that these traits are fundamental to our survival and success, and to consider them flaws is not entirely correct: they serve evolutionary imperatives to save us, to preserve the tribe, to ensure the advancement of our societies. These aspects of our character may cause terrible cruelty and suffering, but can also serve a useful purpose, a potent driver of the triumph of our species. And while they do not excuse the worst of our natures, nor ease my understanding of my own family story, we cannot ignore the essential foundations of our transgressions, and how they shape our history, our present and our future.
For millennia, the basis of human wrongdoing has been framed by theologians and philosophers in moral terms, as sins, transgressions against divine law: that all our shameful, selfish acts are moral failings, all originating from the Seven Deadly Sins. That it is these moral flaws that form the foundation for all evil in the world, offences that slight God and humankind.