The Psychology of Temptation... Are all seven deadly sins equally bad? Which is the most tempting?..click

The infamous American filmstar, Mae West said “I generally avoid temptation unless
I can't resist it.” The equally “naughty” Irish writer Oscar Wilde is famous for many quips including: “I can resist anything except temptation” and “The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it.”
What is temptation? And why can some people resist and others not? Are those who fail to resist bad, sad or mad? Or all three? Or, in fact perfectly normal and average as we all, but at times, give in to many temptations.

 What people are tempted by differs enormously from one individual to the next. Freud called all children “polymorphous perverts” in the sense that their perversity can take many forms. The Freudians argue that the two most powerful desires, drives and urges that we have to control are sex and violence. Our impulsive, primitive, ID has to controlled by our later developing super-ego or conscience.  We learn how to become civilised people who don’t “give in” to our base, primitive urges. Some of us learn this more effectively than others.

People who give in to temptation may be intellectually impaired. Or else simple dysfunctionally impulsive unable to exercise healthy adult emotional control. They want it, and take it NOW, seemingly unable to either postpone gratification or resist.

Some people are tempted by drugs, others by unusual forms of sex and still others to break the law. Addicts have long given in to temptation and have to fill their cravings be it for alcohol, tobacco or more serious drugs. Others simply “give in” to their sexual urges when they can.

All societies have complex rules about what is right and wrong, good and bad, acceptable and not acceptable behaviour. Parents, educators and other authorities strive hard to ensure that children grow into adults who obey the laws and rules of those societies.
Some  cultures are more strict than others.  There are laws as well as rules and etiquette. What is legal and socially acceptable in one culture is unacceptable in others. Most of us are tempted to break the law daily even if it is something like speeding.

Most people know about the Seven Deadly or Cardinal Sins.  But are some sins more deadly than other? And deadly in what sense: do they immediately lead to eternal damnation? Is the temptation to commit these sins more powerful in some rather than others? Is there a fashion to sinning and temptation? What is wicked and sinful and even illegal in one generation may be quite acceptable in the next.
The deadly sins are (listed alphabetically) Envy, Gluttony, Greed, Lust, Pride, Sloth and Wrath.

Lust is out. Romantic relationships in the office, particularly with people of different rank, are a no-no. Sexual urges are powerful and insistent, particularly among the young. It is easy to misinterpret signals and give way to temptation. If sex occurs legally between two consenting adults many would say that is OK. But others not: see adultery!

Gluttony is not good. The health-police don’t like any form of indulgence, particularly alcohol and drugs. Gluttony is all about losing control; of stuffing your face. It is childlike and often a sign of depression. Gluttony is about loss of control; but often many other issues beside. But not resisting a delicious cake may be thought of as quite different from resisting a sexual encounter.

Wrath is mostly bad. Much depends on the cause or consequences of the wrath. But any type of verbal abuse, and much worse physical abuse, is very, very unacceptable. Even just wrath and indignation is now frowned upon. Wrath implies vengeful violence whereas forgiveness is thought of as the better response.

Envy seems much less wicked. Surely the societally approved expression of envy is not a sin at all. It is clearly a normal response to an unjust and inequitable system. Envy, as the Freudians tell us, can take many forms.

Sloth, too, has a mixed reception. Sloth can take many forms: just being lazy, not going to work; telling lies about an imaginary illness. It seems such an old-fashioned word, used now only to describe that curious, very slow moving animal.
Then we get to two that seem far less sinful than the others.

Greed is good. Or perhaps greed was good. Greed is about accumulation; about getting more for yourself…perhaps more than your share. When in the 1980s greed was good, it was associated with risk-taking entrepreneurship. The trickle-down theorists argued that the greedy not only made money for themselves, but also for others. Greed seems to be OK in bull, but not bear, markets.

Pride is very good. The self-esteem gurus, who argue that if you make people feel good about themselves they will discover and the exploit their talent, have led to an epidemic of narcissism, particularly among the young. Not to have pride in yourself means you have low self-esteem and will never fulfil your destiny.Humility, it seems, is confused with low self-confidence. And confidence is thought to be a magic bullet that liberates all sorts of skills you never knew you had.

So, how often are we tempted to commit the seven deadly sins? Is the definition of a good person, a responsible adult, a well-adjusted human being that he or she can look temptation in the eye….and resist?