Our beliefs may be influenced by what is at stake, an ASU professor said Friday night as part of the 2009 Philosophy Colloquium Lecture series at the Tempe campus.

Brad Armendt, a philosophy professor in the School of Life Sciences, said a person’s belief in something may become challenged if the stakes of the outcome are raised or lowered, resulting in varying “degrees of belief.”

“In general, what we do depends on what we believe,” said Armendt, adding that we make choices differently when stakes change, including our willingness to act on or admit to a belief.

He used the example of a man serving dinner to his friends. Initially, the man believes the dinner is peanut-free. But when he learns one of his dinner guests is highly allergic to peanuts, he suddenly questions his belief and may begin to change his degree of belief because more depends on the outcome.

The host becomes unsure if there are even traces of peanut in the meal and questions if he should serve the dinner altogether.

Armendt said he has expressed an interest in decision-making and belief since grad school.

The lectures feature faculty members and invited speakers, but because of recent budget cuts, organizers have been less able to bring outside speakers to ASU, said professor Angel Pinillos.

Pinilos, with the School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies, has run the lecture series for the last three years.

“We took that as an opportunity to bring in an in-house speaker,” he said.

Graduate students also play a role in selecting speakers or topics.

Philosophy graduate student Michelle Saint said students suggest names or speakers to Pinillos and work together to present interesting topics for the series.

During his lecture, Armendt said that when the stakes are high, people tend to have more conservative beliefs.

Belief is also closesly tied to success, he said, and may breed or undermine success as a means of creating over-confidence.

The possible outcome of an action is what determines the stakes, meaning that if an action has various possible outcome, it is stake-sensitive.

If the action is constant in its outcome, it is stake-insensitive.

Armendt presented his beliefs and opened the lecture up for dialogue, dicussing the relationship between stakes and beliefs and instances when a belief is truly stake-sensitive with attendees.

Though the lecture series is geared toward the ASU philosophical community, the interesting range of topics have drawn non-philosophy students as well, Saint said.

“I think that a lot of topics are actually issues which are interesting and worthwhile for the ASU population as a whole,” she said.

Reach the reporter at anatwood@asu.edu.