An interesting premise, but this was a tedious book to read. I feel that the author was shoehorning interesting medical cases into a religious/philosophical grid and it didn't quite work. I did not finish reading -- a rare thing for me.

𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙛𝙡𝙖𝙬𝙨 𝙨𝙞𝙩 𝙗𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣 𝙪𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙚𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙢𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙚𝙣𝙫𝙞𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩

Reviews have fallen behind, life has been a challenge. My Australian Cattle dog Grady, as of last Wednesday, is suffering sudden paralysis. There are good signs, and he is under the care of a fantastic vet, but my time has been spent on tending to his needs. With that said, prior to this bad turn, I was away for my daughter’s beautiful wedding, a very joyful occasion. Life has been up and down this year, to the very end. On to the review.

Seven Deadly Sins takes the reader through wrath, gluttony, lust, envy, sloth, greed and pride looking to challenge our preconceived assumptions about sinners. The book begins with the perfect quote from Immanuel Kant in the introduction; “out of the crooked timber of humanity, no straight thing was ever made.” How do we judge wrongdoing if it arises from a place of dysfunction or illness within the brain? The author’s family history is filled with violence, horrors beyond comprehension and man’s worst inhumanity to man from concentration camps and extermination on his paternal side and centuries of hatred in Baghdad on his maternal end. Not excusing the horrors, Dr. Guy Leschziner longs to understand “the biology of being human”, learning much from his own clients during years in his clinical practice. Rather than weighing people down with damnation, he thinks of traits not as failings nor inherent evil, but results of disease, injury, a time when the body malfunctions. How do our genes play a role in the decisions we make, or don’t make, too tired or lazy to bother? Is it always a moral issue? Shouldn’t we take biology into account? How much free will does a person have? One particular patient with seizures is left confused and aggressive after he has episodes, even committing violence leading to arrests. Others can suffer psychosis. How does one make a choice “morally” when the brain is disrupting their life? Is what they do a sin? Where does anger come from? Isn’t anger also necessary at times?

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Gluttons can have rare genetic disorders, but it can possibly be a social issue too, environmental. Through his patient Alex, Guy sheds light on a diagnosis that makes one question the shame of gluttony, when it truly is out of a person’s control. The relationship between eating and dopamine is something we all experience and can attest to. Why do so many of us face failure in losing weight, struggle monitoring what we put in our mouth? Are we just shameless, fallen or is something bigger, our evolution to blame?

Lust and the uninhibited, even sexual behavior can arise from neurological damage and disease. Urges, why do some people have them and become obsessed? How do we understand such compulsions? Are casual sexual encounters evolutionary, a search for better genes? Could this explain infidelity, something driving us beyond ourselves, something biological? The frontal lobes, as evidenced from studies in patient injuries, seems to be a place where restraint exists. If that reins our desires in, what happens to those who have been damaged there either through injury or disease, people who are hypersexual, sometimes to a criminal degree.

Each sin is shed in a new light through patient accounts, one that hit me was sloth. I think about how illness affects the body’s energy levels, where accomplishing the simplest task can feel like climbing a mountain. How depression exhausts body and mind, I wouldn’t label that a choice, a sin. People can only push through so much. I really enjoy this provocative book, not because I think every “sin” or failure is excusable by saying it’s our genes presiding over us and that we have no free will, but because there are situations that alter our rational mind. There are diseases and injuries that rob us of our free will. I have known people who shame others who are ill as being lazy, usually it’s someone who has an incredible immune system, who berates them with the ‘mind over matter’ mantra. If only it were that easy. Is sickness a character flaw, hardly! Environment plays a role, after covid people learned first hand how lack or support, interaction with others, fresh air can adversely effect one’s mind, sanity. I don’t think we readers will have all the answers in this book, but it certainly challenges our assumptions about good vs evil, life isn’t that clear-cut. In fact, sometimes the drugs that are meant to treat us can cause an array of sinful behaviors, or side effects. Not to say there aren’t bad people who intentionally commit horrific acts, but certainly there can be an explanation sometimes from a neuroscientific basis as to what drives them to do it.

A clever read.

Publication Date: December 3, 2024 Available Now

St. Martin’s Press

I am a sucker for in-depth, data-filled books on health and science topics, so Dr. Guy Leschziner's "Seven Deadly Sins: The Biology of Being Human" (St. Martin's Press, 2024) called to me immediately. 

A consulting neurologist who specializes in sleep disorders and epilepsy, who has also presented three series on BBC World and BBC Radio, the strengths of "Seven Deadly Sins" lie in Leschziner's medical narrative.  For example, in the gluttony chapter, he shares a case study of twenty-eight-year-old Alex, who lives with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), a genetic condition that includes no appetite "off switch." The extraordinary lengths her parents, Kate and John, go to provide her health and safety are admirable, as is Alex's understanding of her condition and its impact on her life.

Similar case studies are peppered throughout each chapter to explain each "sin" (or lack thereof) and how doctors' interpretations, even a few decades ago, have changed markedly based on further studies.  Even Leschziner admits to feeling shame regarding misplaced assumptions about obese patients while he was a junior doctor.

I do not think the "sins" theme carried well throughout, primarily due to a waffling stance on religion and free will, though I appreciated his intriguing, astute health analyses.

Thank you to Guy Leschziner, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for the eARC.

I read the book and listened to the audio book. Both were very good.

I enjoyed how the author organized the information. We took a look at each of the "Deadly Sins" and dove into the biological and psychological reasons humans partake in these behaviors. The book highlights the science behind the behavior and highlights that avoiding these "sins" may be more difficult for some than others. Explaining the chemical imbalances in the brain that may cause someone to feel more tired leads to sloth or how a person who has been exposed to violence is more likely to become violent helps create understanding. Though the course of the book the reader can see each of the "sins" from a cultural norm perspective then digs into the "why" behind it. Fascinating read when learning about the causes for human behavior.

Only downside was you have to have a basic knowledge of biology and psychology to follow the authors explanations.

Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. These opinions are completely my own.

I'd like to start this review off by stating that I do not work in the medical field in any capacity and I am reading this book out of an interest to the subject.


That being said, I loved this book. The way the author explains himself is easy to follow along and yet it does not talk down to you. The way he explains different examples of what can cause a human to suffer a metal illness related to a sin is fascinating and once again not overly complicate to comprehend . Mind you my family is a Cobb salad of mental disorders so I have some familiarity to the subject

This book was not what I was expecting at all, in a good way. I expected a purely religious approach to the sins, but it was more than that. I was surprised at how informative and easy to understand Dr. Guy's thoughts and explanations are. Thought-provoking and very unique. Overall, a good book.


Thank you, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley, for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Dr. Guy Leschziner’s Seven Deadly Sins: The Biology of Being Human offers a compelling premise: reframing humanity's most infamous moral failings—gluttony, greed, sloth, pride, envy, lust, and anger—as evolutionary imperatives rather than purely ethical lapses. The book challenges long-held notions of sin by exploring their neuroscientific and genetic underpinnings, and it occasionally succeeds in making the reader question whether these so-called vices might be more integral to our survival than we realize.

Leschziner’s background as a neurologist shines through in his ability to weave fascinating case studies into the narrative. His accounts of patients whose medical or psychological conditions manifest in behaviors traditionally labeled as sinful are both thought-provoking and empathetic. The scientific explanations behind these behaviors are delivered with clarity, offering lay readers accessible insights into the workings of the human brain.

However, the book occasionally feels uneven. While the individual explorations of each sin are intriguing, the chapters can sometimes read like separate essays loosely connected by the overarching theme. The narrative flow is interrupted by moments of dense scientific jargon or digressions that detract from the main argument. Additionally, while Leschziner raises compelling questions, he tends to leave them unanswered, resulting in a book that feels more provocative than conclusive.

One of the book’s strengths lies in its ability to challenge societal norms and highlight the complexity of human behavior. However, its tendency to overemphasize biology as the sole lens for understanding sin leaves little room for cultural, philosophical, or theological perspectives, which could have enriched the discussion.

Overall, Seven Deadly Sins is a fascinating read for those interested in neuroscience and psychology, but it may leave readers looking for a more cohesive and interdisciplinary exploration feeling unsatisfied. While it raises important questions about the nature of morality and human behavior, it stops short of delivering the deeper synthesis that the subject seems to demand.

This book was not at all what I was expecting, but it was intriguing and informative. The author explains physiology, pathology, evolution, and disease influences on exhibiting the behaviors defined as the seven deadly sins. I learned quite a bit about how one's behavior can be influenced by a wide range of things beyond nature vs. nurture. Certainly the influences of legal and illegal drugs affect behavior in a myriad of ways. And, of course he never denies that humans have free will and have some control over some behaviors, but obvioiusly not all aspects. This text adds quite a bit of complexity to explanations of human behavior for those who are not professionals in evaluating the behavior of others. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to explore the causes of human behavior beyond the parameters that most layman use. My sincere thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and the author for the ARC of this text.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this arc.

This is an interesting idea of using the (religious) "seven deadly sins" to illuminate actions that have propelled the human species and played a major role in our evolutionary survival over the millennia. I had enjoyed a previous book of Dr. Leschziner's, "The Man Who Tasted Words," so I started this book with high hopes. Each chapter focuses on a "sin," which I began to mentally change to "behavior," which has historically been condemned by religion and society as harmful. But are they really? Have these behaviors actually helped hominids survive and thrive?    

Fair warning that I found the opening chapter on wrath/anger to be a chore to read and resorted to checking other reviews to decide whether or not to continue. Thankfully things improved - to a degree - in subsequent chapters. Yet are some similar drawbacks that continue through the book. Dr. Leschziner uses examples of some of his actual patients to illustrate the "sins." Then he begins to examine possible things that could cause the actions his patients exhibit: brain diseases, brain injuries, drugs, etc. I admire the detail but even with a medical background I found many of these discussions to be close to or over my head (no pun intended) and a bit repetitive. 

Unfortunately what I really came for, how these actions/thoughts might have been to our evolutionary advantage, tended to get lost in the weeds. Given that our brains are still somewhat of a mystery (though advancing medical discoveries are helping reveal new knowledge about it), there is some speculation here. The various professionals who specialize in the brain can and do argue about cause and effect. I enjoyed the case studies and thoughts on why these "sins" might have been useful to us but I have my doubts about how accessible much of the book will be to many readers. C

On August 1st, 1966, Charles Whitman, after killing his mother and wife, walked up to the observation deck of the clock tower at the University of Texas-Austin and randomly started shooting at bystanders. He was an expert marksman, so he hardly missed a target. In the span of ninety-six minutes, he killed fifteen and injured thirty-one (one victim died in 2001 from inflicted wounds). At first, Whitman was deemed a monster, the epitome of pure evil. Although a regular occurrence in the contemporary zeitgeist, mass murder was uncommon prior to the 1990s, thus Whitman was an anomaly, even if political assassinations were more prevalent at the time. After an autopsy was done, however, it was revealed Whitman, who said in his suicide note he felt something was wrong with his brain, had a cancerous tumor pressing on his amygdala, the part of the brain that regulates fear, anxiety, and aggression. So, would Whitman, a church-going Roman Catholic, have become a mass murderer if he did not have a brain tumor? Much of Guy Leschziner’s book Seven Deadly Sins: The Biology of Being Human speaks to this conundrum. How much does biology play into sinful transgressions?

This review will be coming out in the Today's American Catholic in the coming days...so, be on the lookout!

DOUG

The idea for the book was itself thought-provoking, but it was misframed and it didn't really prove the arguments it was making and misunderstood the topic at hand.

This book wasn’t what I expected. It got too much into the weeds of disorders rather than looking at the everyday value of “sins” in normal life. The tone was pretty dark.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

3.5 ⭐

Seven Deadly Sin: The Biology of Being Human presents medical cases where physical or psychological injuries/ disorders gives rise to baser actions which fall into the seven Deadly sins: gluttony, greed, sloth, pride, envy, lust, and anger.
Each chapter is dedicated to one of the seven sins and includes several case studies of persons who embody that sin following a change in their psyche.

It was an incredibly insightful read to how amazing and fragile our brains are. I'm not sure I was able to fully appreciate it, but as a causal reader I can say I really enjoyed it.
If human behaviour and psychology is your jam this is worth picking up, and if it's not your jam it still makes for an interesting read.

Thank you to Dr. Guy Leschziner, St.Martin's Press, and NetGalley for this ARC.

Disclaimer: I got this advance copy for free but I am leaving this honest review voluntarily.

An interesting and accessible examination of the intersection of biology and let's face it. judgement of others. The seven deadly sins have always carried stigma but Leschziner makes a good argument, using real cases that the behavior we deride can be caused by biology. He does delve into philosophy but the best parts are those where the issues are shown in patients. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good thought provoking read.

Not a bad book necessarily, but it doesn't do what the blurb promises. Rather than looking at the neurological and psychological roots of emotions and drives correlating to the seven deadly sins, the book looks at extreme cases of each. The blurb and introduction claim that the book's argument is about the necessity of these traits for human survival; that is barely discussed or explained. Also, the immense amount of fragments got annoying really fast. I'm not a huge stickler for grammar, and I'm all for breaking the rules for effect. But fragment after fragment really fractured the reading experience.

My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advance copy of this book of medical investigation into the neurological and biological reasons that might have given rise to the idea of deadly sins, what it tells us about humans, and what it means for many of our actions.

I guess I should say that I learned about the seven deadly sins in the CCD classes that Catholic boys and girls have to attend for religious instruction. As I never paid any attention in class, thinking more of the checks I would get for confirmation and other things, I am sure it was not there. I would assume it was in the Deadly Sins series my Grandfather used to read by Lawrence Sanders, who was the James Patterson of the seventies and eighties. Pride, Envy, Lust, Sloth, Wraith, Gluttony and Greed have been used in many books, movies and albums, to stop temptation or to lead one deeper in. Even the Big Red Cheese, Shazam, or Captain Marvel, or whatever he is called now, used the deadly sins to show how great a hero Shazam was. They have become so much of a trope that in many ways they have become accepted. Greed is good. Keeping up with the Joneses. Dr. Guy Leschziner in his book Seven Deadly Sins: The Biology of Being Human looks at a variety of neurological and biological reasons that might have given rise to the idea of these sins, how they destroy lives and families, and how their legacy continues to this day.

The book starts with a brief history of the idea of seven sins, the theological impact and how it has been brought into teaching and learning. Readers are also give a biographical sketch of the author, his years of experience dealing with patients of all kinds, from war zones, to refugees and more, and how the sins that are discussed are responsible for many of the situations these patients are dealing with. Using his own family Dr. Leschziner discusses how his grandfather's experiences in the Holocaust, seeing the worst sins that humans could do to others, is still something his family, generations later are still dealing with. From there the author discusses the ideas of the sins, and different patients, that are suffering neurological and psychological problems similar to what the sins are. A patient with epilepsy finds a medicine that cures his seizures, but gives him periods of massive almost Hulk-like rage. A wounded soldier with a brain injury finds himself talking about women nonstop, and what he thinks of them. The need for some people to buy to excess, and never be happy, always feeling less but wanting more.

Not the book that I expected, but something far more. Though reading about a lot of these people, especially the ones who were trying to get better was sad, and maddening. I can't imagine finding a cure to one symptom, but to find that the cure makes one rage at friends and co-workers. Also the stories about gluttony, the never ending need to eat, to be full that never comes, while eating horrible things, and destroying one's health. Dr. Leschziner is a very good writer and an empathetic one, making the reader feel things for these patients, even the one's that don't deserve much. Also Dr. Leschziner has a chapter on free will, that is a well reasoned argument about how much can one claim that they are sick, and still carry on destructive behaviors, to themselves and others. One of my favorite sections in the book.

A book that fans of Dr. Leschziner's previous books will enjoy, and one that asks a lot of questions and makes readers think. And more importantly feel for people. Which is something that is in short supply. A unique and different read.

I feel that I’ve finally come to a book about which I feel woefully underqualified to write a review. It’s Dr. Guy Leschziner’s Seven Deadly Sins, a look at neurobiology related to gluttony, greed, sloth, pride, envy, lust, and anger. (With a chapter on free will thrown in for the heck of it. More on that in just a second.) It’s a book labeled as “controversial” by its publisher, St. Martin’s Press, because of its shocking declaration that human beings do not have free will because the synapses firing on all cylinders are so rapid that decisions are made in the brain before the thought that we humans may have. If I’m getting this right, that means that the cheeseburger you find yourself craving was decided to be ordered well in advance of you going to the local hamburger joint and plunking down money for some tasty ground beef on a bun. (With cheese!) The book is a little more complicated than that, and it’s a long one — it’ll take you about seven hours to get through it if you read indiscriminately. I think this might be a book that is best meant for academics and clinicians; the only reason I’ve read it is because a free advance copy was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I can say a few good things about this book. The most appealing aspect is easily the case studies that Dr. Leschziner presents. Culling from his patient records, the good doctor tells stories of people who have suffered brain injuries and have become promiscuous (that’s lust) or are suddenly prone to angry outbursts (that’s, well, anger). The premise itself is also likable: that the seven deadly sins are neurologically based instead of being a moral imperative — that is to say, we are hardwired to do bad things at some cellular level that a slight bump to the head can throw off-kilter. However, I wonder if this book is “controversial” for the wrong reasons. That is, if one is to believe Dr. Leschziner’s findings and hypothesis that sin is more a matter of the mind than of the heart, it can lead one to make the following conclusion: if a gene causes undesired behavior a, b, or c, then it would logically flow from that that that gene or piece of grey matter could be edited out. In other words, eugenics. To the best of my memory, this is very lightly touched on in the book — and if that memory is faulty, well, it was a long, dense book packed to the gills with information.

So why do I feel so unqualified to review this book? Well, I am not a brain surgeon but a simple layperson. This book was not for me as it was above my pay grade. However, as a layperson, I found this volume repetitive. It also takes weird curve balls into areas such as Huntington’s Disease, which I suppose goes back to the notion of editing out genes that carry horrific diseases down through the generations of families. In short, if this book has any failing, it might be that the author is a tad little too close to his subject matter. Perhaps he was also desperate to shoehorn the “seven deadly sins” angle into this package — making it more of a marketing ploy than anything else. (To wit, I initially thought this would be a book about religious theology before reading the synopsis from the publisher. However, I still greedily took it from the publisher, so say what you will about me.) How much one enjoys this dry and academic read (except for the case studies, which provide glimpses of illumination and interest for the reader) is based on how much scientific jargon and medical mumbo-jumbo you’re willing to take on.

But I don’t mean to be harsh at all. This book will be held closely and lovingly to the chests of neurosurgeons, geneticists, and potentially even psychiatrists. The audience for a scientific tome such as this may be broad amongst brain and nervous systems specialists. And, I have to admit that I was impressed by the intelligence and insight of the author — a native of London, England. Dr. Leschziner is a brilliant man with a clever mind, even if he’s most straightforward in describing the afflictions of his various patients. So, what can I really say about this book? Aside from the fact that I feel underqualified to write about this work (so you may want to consult a second opinion somewhere else), I must concede that it has appeal. If you like medical non-fiction and are interested in grey matter, you might find something to write about here. It would be a sin to skip over this one. All others can take this or leave it. I’m unsure where I exist on this spectrum, but I found the book mildly fascinating, even in its wanting bits. It’s a curiosity, to be sure.

I suppose if you’re interested in reading about psych patients exhibiting the traits of the SDS, you will like this book. I did not. Yes, it’s well written. Yes, some will learn from it. But, like most, I consider a sin an act of choice, and the people here are mentally ill and not in total control of their choices. In that way, it feels exploitive.

Before reading this book, I was aware of the “Seven Deadly Sins” of Pride, Greed (Avarice), Wrath, Envy, Lust, Gluttony, and Sloth, but didn’t really know much about them or their origins.

I learned that they were developed early around the Sixth Century with the idea that Christians who follow them would not wander away from God and the Seven Virtues of Chastity, Temperance, Charity, Diligence, Kindness, Patience, and Humility that counteract them.

The idea behind the Seven Deadly Sins: The Biology of Being Human is simple: take the Seven Deadly Sins—also known as the “Capital Vices” or “Cardinal Sins”—of Christianity and apply them to neuroscience and psychological science.

This is an interesting concept, with each chapter dedicated to a specific sin, and I was curious to see how author Guy Leschziner would apply them scientifically. As I plowed through the book, however, I realized that, while the concept probably looked good on paper, the execution wasn’t always well-realized.

I thought that the author tried extremely hard—too hard at times—to take the cases he presented and apply them to the Seven Deadly Sins. When the presented cases and situations fit the respective Sin, the book was fascinating because the cases themselves were fascinating, not that the respective Sin was necessarily applicable.

I did find the chapter on Pride to be of major interest due to the upcoming American presidential election, and how the discussion of narcissism could be applied to one of the major party candidates.

The eighth chapter focused on Free Will and, since the Seven Deadly Sins are derived from Christian thought, the idea of Free Will, as Christianity sees it, is moral accountability and the ability to choose between good and evil.

While the author does go into a detailed discussion of the “Readiness Potential” (RP) or Bereitschaftspotential (BP), which is the idea that the brain is preparing to make a move on its own without conscious thought, I found the concept to be fascinating and one that I’d not come across in my previous readings, however I did find that the discussion veered into a more philosophical direction that I did not find all that engaging.

This is a book I have a challenging time recommending but, to be fair, it is well-written and could be of interest to the reader who is looking for another approach to both neuroscience and psychological science.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary ARC. All opinions are my own. This was def outside of my normal wheelhouse but I'm glad I read it.