Letter: Who goes with you?

From Brian Wood

May I suggest an evolutionary advantage to the sense of a “presence” so
beautifully described in your article on religious feelings
(21 April, p 24).

In many cases, people who have survived exposure to extremes of danger have
described such a sense of an extra person with them. I think of explorer Admiral
Byrd in the Antarctic, and the members of the Shackleton expedition,
particularly during their walk over the uncharted mountains to the whaling
station.

Reading these stories, I get a strong impression that the sense of an extra
person gave them added strength, permitting survival under circumstances where
it seems almost impossible that anyone would have the endurance to survive.

In our world, only a few people are exposed to such extreme danger, but in
the world of early humans danger was a more normal part of experience. They
would secure real advantages from sensing a “friend in need”. One can surmise
that this sensation evolved from the sense of deep trust which pack animals
place in a strong leader.

Lenzie, Strathclyde