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Cherry-Picking the Hippocratic Oath

Cherry-picking refers to people’s practice of selecting information to justify their points of view, even as they ignore perspectives and data from the same or similar legitimate sources that contradict their positions.

For example, the Hippocratic Oath is sometimes quoted to justify a stance against abortion rights by the same people who are certain that faith in female divinity as expressed in this document is heretical. Indeed, this oath, from which anti-abortion advocates draw support, was created by people who worshiped goddesses. It states, “I swear by Apollo the healer, Asclepius, Hygieia and Panacea, and I take to witness all the gods, all the goddesses, to keep according to my ability and judgment, the following oath and agreement.”

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In Praise of the Placenta

The connection between humanity and the nutritional abundance of our sacred planet is as indispensable as the placental connection between a mother and her child. The placenta has been described as the only disposable organ ever made. Civilization is also disposable. If the connection between humanity and civilization fails, our descendants will have no more chance of survival than a fetus disconnected from its placenta.

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Everybody Talkin’ ‘Bout Heaven Ain't Goin’ There

An overwhelming majority of people living on Earth believe their god offers them an afterlife. The accuracy of this statement is based on the number of people who belong to a religion that claims life after death is a certainty. Among the many existing religions featuring some form of afterlife are Christianity (2.5 billion adherents),…

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The Doomsday Clock and Human Leadership

For dozens of centuries the aristocracy mocked and doubted the common people’s capacity to lead. Then came “We hold these truths to be self-evident … all men are created equal … they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights … among these rights are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” If you believe these words, then you own responsibility for human leadership now.