Madam, - Philip Scott (September 6th) ends his philosophical letter on the question of science and the existence of God by saying: "Personally, I am very comfortable with the idea of God. And I should be lost without it."
This mindset is entirely in keeping with the views of Prof Bruce Hood of Bristol University who claims that the human brain is programmed to believe in ghosts, magic and the supernatural (The Irish Times, September 5th).
It seems that this capacity to believe in the supernatural is merely an evolutionary mechanism to comfort humans in life's travails and protect them from fear of the unknown.
Humans who have rejected the existence of supernatural beings are those who no longer have a need for this evolutionary support.
- Yours, etc,
ANTHONY SHERIDAN, Carraig Eoin, Cobh, Co Cork.