Author Archives

I am an independent scholar from Lethbridge, Alberta. I am all-but-thesis for a masters in philosophy. My research interests include the social aspects of belief acquisition and maintenance, language, and rhetoric. I also have an artsy bent and enjoy photography, painting, and graphic narratives. I live with my husband, Paul, a social and political philosopher, Barsi, a Border Collie-Pyrenees cross, Howard, a German Shepherd-Bernese-Pyrenees cross puppy, and two cats, Mr. Tinky and Rorschach. Paul and I have three wonderful sons and their three respective equally wonderful partners between us.

• What beliefs are ‘for’. Aaron C.T. Smith

  By pammentations on November 20, 2020 • ( 0 )

  In his book, Cognitive Mechanisms of Belief Change, Aaron CT Smith, a cognitive scientist from Melbourne, Australia, gives a brilliant account of what beliefs do for us. Flock Theory,  “In my estimation…beliefs follow the same kinds of rules governing flocks… Read More ›

• Of Flocks and Wings

  By pammentations on November 20, 2020 • ( 0 )

  Lurking somewhere in the back of our adult brains is every mother’s admonition If your friends jumped off a bridge, would you? Don’t blindly follow your friends. Sometimes this warning is made explicit. When I went to university in my 40s,… Read More ›

• Thoughtlets .xxvi.

  By pammentations on November 16, 2020 • ( 1 )

  What fascinates me about Speakeasies was the mingling between and relative equality of rich, poor, women, men, black and white. These illicit clubs helped with the momentum and success of civil rights movements. The current Prohibition with its categories of prohibited… Read More ›

• A meditation on the character of a political speaker and, by extension, a voter (Oct. 31/20 with Nov. 15/20 addendum)

  By pammentations on November 15, 2020 • ( 1 )

  Loosely put, rhetoric is the art of persuasion. More specifically, on Aristotle’s definition, rhetoric is “the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion.” We all use rhetoric to convince others of some thing or other,… Read More ›

• Saturday Morning Pam-Toons. A Speakeasy in the Age of Prohibition. (see caption)

  By pammentations on November 14, 2020 • ( 3 )

  See also, https://pam-mentations.com/2020/11/16/thoughtlets-xxvi/

• What we stand to lose. Final, Series 5.5

  By pammentations on November 9, 2020 • ( 3 )

  In the final instalment of this series, I lay a few bones on the table for your consideration. I hope you value them as I do. ————————————————————————————— “If the human race is under threat in some way that we don’t… Read More ›

• Building a model of the world is a community project. Series. 5.4.

  By pammentations on November 9, 2020 • ( 3 )

  Recall my project here. In this series, I lay out some “bones” for thinking about the way — the why and the how — the people we depend on for our survival, delectation, and companionship (our peeps) help us navigate… Read More ›

• Survival. Series 5.3.

  By pammentations on November 9, 2020 • ( 2 )

  Often times we pick up facts that appear useful or interesting and bring them back to our peeps for inspection. Invariably, when we shake a fact out of a gunny-sack and lay it on the table, they’ll gather ‘round and… Read More ›

• Mattering to each other. Series 5.2.

  By pammentations on November 9, 2020 • ( 2 )

  In this series, I lay out some “bones” for thinking about the way — the why and the how — the people we depend on for our survival, delectation, and companionship (our peeps) help us navigate the world. And we… Read More ›

• What’s in a name? A face, a voice, laughter, habits….Series 5.1.

  By pammentations on November 9, 2020 • ( 6 )

  The names of the people we love are like beads on a Rosary, well-worn worry stones oft-fondled for comfort and reassurance. 5.2 Mattering to Each Other 5.3 Survival 5.4 Building a Model of the World is a Community Project 5.5… Read More ›