Internalism and externalism

The terms externalism and internalism are philosophical terms, which have been transferred from the English terms externalism and internalism in the German. You have an independent meaning, depending on the branch of philosophy. Your application can be found in ethics, in philosophy of science, in epistemology, philosophy of language and semantics, and in the philosophy of mind. The terms occur in each case on as a couple, are marked with the opposing philosophical positions. When externalism each discussed statement of facts receives a message or an impulse that comes from the outside, does not lie in the facts themselves. Conversely, the following internalism something that lies in the thing or the object of study itself.

Ethics

In moral philosophy, the terms are used to distinguish whether the reasons for an action in the will or beliefs of that person are ( internalism ) or whether these reasons arising from standards, which give the outer frame for the motivation of that person ( externalism ). It is the source of the imposed standards (law, religion, philosophy ) irrelevant. Thus, a rational ethics, is traded after the conviction, founded internally in the beliefs of the agent, while the following of established publicly commandments has an external cause.

Philosophy of Science

In science, theory is debatable whether there can be theories whose content is based solely on the merits ( internalism ), or whether any theory is determined at least in some factors by culture and social conditions, so is not within the subject matter interests ( externalism ). Known examples of the arguments on this issue are the values ​​controversy or the positivism dispute.

Epistemology

In the theory of knowledge is compared with, whether the justification for a statement on reasons based, which completely are the person who makes such a justification to own ( internalism ), or whether the person is an instance, their teacher, or God, considered as a sufficient scale, the reason manifests ( externalism ). The correspondence theory of truth corresponds to a externalism, as there are external to the subject standards for the knowledge of the truth. One argument for externalism is the Gettier problem.

Philosophy of Language

In the philosophy of language, the term externalism is closely associated with the semantic externalism of Hilary Putnam. Indeed, in an article entitled " The meaning of meaning " ( The Meaning of, Meaning ') developed the thesis that meaning is produced not only in the head and this argument is illustrated by the thought experiment of a Twin Earth.

Philosophy of mind

In the philosophy of mind, the dichotomy is discussed in recent years, under the heading of Extended Spirit.