7's not enough (Sins of Course)

I recently discovered a thoroughly delightful discussion of the seven deadly sins, sin in general, and sin as seen from a behavioural point of view. Buy using some of the latest research findings Dr Christian Jarret entertains us with the concepts of guilt and shame, and how the cultural system we uphold in modern society demand self-restraint from those who would want to benefit from it's familiar structure and support.

... research has shown that self-restraint is like a muscle – the more you use it, the stronger it gets. But it’s also a finite resource. On any given day, if you exert self-control in one situation you’ll have less left over to triumph over temptation later on. ‘Human beings are animals who have managed to create a new kind of social system,’ says Baumeister. ‘The system (culture) requires them to overcome some of their natural, animal habits, inclinations, and tendencies, so as to follow the rules that enable the system to make life better for everyone. Self-control is a vital faculty for enabling them to accomplish this.

If you want you can download the full artlicle here if you would like to enjoy his fascinating discussion to include such bespoke irreverence as:

"Seven New Deadly Sins", (I know! Isn't seven enough?) "Seven Evidenced Based Ways To Be Good" (with such gems of modern day goodness as ."If at first you don’t succeed, cheat."), and seven days of confesion by the bloggers at the Psychologist.org.