Pride, Envy, Anger, Sloth, Greed, Gluttony, Lust
Heironymus Bosch painted his famous depiction of the Seven Deadly Sins in 1485. They are arranged in a circle with the all-seeing eye of God with Christ in the middle.
This codification of the human moral frailties was set down in the 6th century AD by Pope Gregory I. In the 21st century we tend to believe we have conquered these temptations by advanced technology. In realilty technology has only amplified their capacity for disaster and increased the need for daily vigilance. One has only to consider the magnitude of he Enron and WorldCom scams caused by Greed. Nuclear bomb technology has amplified Pride, Envy and Anger into potentially continent-destoying sins.
The obesity epidemic is due to a combination of Pride, Greed, Sloth and Gluttony, a powerful combination. "We are rich, we can buy any type of food and we can eat anything because we are protected by technology (drugs, procedures and devices." The solution to the obesity epidemic is moral, not medical. We all have a moral sense but it is easily undermined by the illusion, moral hazard, of technological utopia propounded by unscrupulous doctors and corporations.
After giving this issue a lot of thought we have concluded that all sins probably derive from the same basic survival instinct which can be labeled Appetite. Appetite is good if directed towards survival and creative tasks but the problem is that Appetite is infinite, insatiable. As Mick Jagger said, I can't get no satisfaction. So, real pleasure is in the knowledge that one has insatiable Appetite but that one has the power to control Appetite and direct it away from self-destructive behaviour for the good of oneself and the rest of humanity. Once one has experienced the 'high" of self-empowerment that too can be come addictive in a good way.
"I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is over self."
-- Aristotle
