Professor Simon Blackburn of Cambridge University is trying to "rescue" lust, arguing it has been wrongly condemned for centuries. His campaign is part of a project on the modern relevance of the seven deadly sins, originally drawn up in the 6th Century by Pope Gregory the Great.

Blackburn aims to save lust "from the denunciations of old men of the deserts, to deliver it from the pallid and envious confessor and the stocks and pillories of the Puritans, to drag it from the category of sin to that of virtue."

He has defined lust as "the enthusiastic desire for sexual activity and its pleasures for its own sake." The philosopher says that if reciprocated, lust leads to pleasure and "best flourishes when unencumbered by bad philosophy and ideology... which prevent its freedom of flow."

He points out that thirst is not criticised although it can lead to drunkenness and in the same way lust should not be condemned just because it can get out of hand. Professor Blackburn is quoted as saying: "The important thing is that generally anything that gives pleasure has a presumption in its favour... The question is how we control it."