How smart does a chimpanzee have to be before killing him constitutes murder?

Science is a way of thinking that helps you not to fool yourself.

We have heard the rationales offered by the nuclear superpowers. We know who speaks for the nations. But who speaks for the human species? Who speaks for Earth?

We are not smart enough to decide which pieces of knowledge are permissible and which are not.

Observation: I can't see a thing. Conclusion: Dinosaurs.

Every one of us is, in the cosmic perspective, precious. If a human disagrees with you, let him live. In a hundred billion galaxies, you will not find another.

Religions are often state-protected nurseries of pseudoscience, although there's no reason why religions have to play that role. In a way, it's an artefact from times long gone.