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internalism
Also known as: internalist, internalists
Facts (53)
Sources
Epistemic Justification – Introduction to Philosophy: Epistemology press.rebus.community 10 facts
claimEvidentialists are typically internalists because they consider evidence to be information that is internal to the mind, as one cannot use information outside the mind in thought.
claimEpistemologists use the terms 'internalist' and 'externalist' to distinguish whether a theory requires a person to cognitively access or be aware of the factors that make their belief justified; theories requiring such access are 'internalist,' while those that do not are 'externalist.'
perspectiveExternalists argue that the internalist understanding of justification's truth-conduciveness is too weak because it allows for the majority of justified beliefs to be false.
claimMany reliabilists struggle to provide a reliabilist-centric explanation for why an introspectively identical twin in a demon world would not have beliefs that are justified for the original person, without conceding too much to internalism.
claimInternalists typically assert that epistemically justified beliefs are subjectively likely to be true, while externalists typically assert that epistemically justified beliefs are objectively likely to be true.
claimInternalists employ the notion of defeaters as a tool for evaluating what a person's total evidence indicates.
perspectiveInternalists argue that the externalist understanding of justification's truth-conduciveness is too strong, because a belief could be objectively likely to be true even if a person has no good reason to believe the relevant proposition, which internalists consider epistemically irrational.
claimInternalism entails that given a person's mental states at a specific time, there is a necessary fact settling which doxastic attitude that person is justified in having toward any proposition at that time.
claimInternalism is the view that contributing factors to epistemic justification are entirely internal to a person’s mind.
claimInternalists in epistemology believe that the factors determining epistemic justification depend entirely on what is occurring inside a person's mind.
Epistemology | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy iep.utm.edu 9 facts
claimInternalism is an epistemological view maintaining that the justification of a belief depends solely on factors internal to the believer's mind, such as their thought processes during the belief's formation.
claimInternalism is vulnerable to the isolation objection, requiring any complete internalist account of justification to address it.
claimAccording to internalism, the only factors relevant to determining if a belief is justified are the believer's other mental states, such as beliefs about the world, sensory inputs, and beliefs about the relations between various beliefs.
claimInternalists argue that for a belief to be justified, it must be appropriately based upon or supported by other mental states.
claimThere are two primary approaches to construing justification: in terms of the believer’s mind (internalism) or in terms of the world (externalism).
claimIn internalism, a belief is considered justified only if it is appropriately based upon or supported by other mental states.
claimTo account for human fallibility, internalists argue that for belief A to be appropriately based on belief B, the truth of belief B must make it likely or probable that belief A is true, rather than requiring that B strictly entails A.
claimAccording to internalism, the only factors relevant to determining whether a belief is justified are the believer's other mental states, such as beliefs about the world, sensory inputs, and beliefs about the relations between various beliefs.
claimInternalism is considered vulnerable to the isolation objection, meaning any complete internalist account of justification must address the possibility that beliefs can be coherent but disconnected from reality.
Epistemology - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy plato.stanford.edu Dec 14, 2005 7 facts
claimJohn Greco argued in his 2005 paper "Justification is Not Internal" that justification is not an internal property, contrasting with internalist views.
claimEvidentialism, as an internalist theory, posits that a radically deceived subject is misled about the actual state of affairs but remains correct about what they are justified in believing.
claimMentalism is a principle characteristic of the internalist point of view in epistemology, which states that if two subjects are alike mentally, then the justificational status of their beliefs is alike as well.
claimEvidentialism is classified as an internalist theory because it implies that if two subjects are mentally alike, they possess the same evidence and are therefore justificationally alike, regardless of physical differences.
claimIn contemporary epistemology, there is an ongoing debate between internalists and externalists regarding whether justification is internal or external.
claimAn argument for internalism based on the brain-in-the-vat scenario posits that because a subject (Tim*) is internally the same as a subject (Tim) but externally different, and their beliefs are justified in the same way, internal factors must be what justify beliefs.
claimInternalists argue that perceptual experiences can serve as a source of justification because it is a necessary truth that certain perceptual experiences justify certain perceptual beliefs, regardless of whether those experiences are reliable.
What Is Epistemology? Pt. 3: The Nature of Justification and Belief philosimplicity.com Oct 23, 2017 5 facts
claimInternalism is a theory of justification which posits that everything required to justify a belief is accessible to a person within their own mind, such as mental states or sensory inputs.
claimInternalism and externalism in epistemology focus on the sources of justification and belief.
claimRené Descartes embraced internalism when he utilized radical skepticism and reasoning to attempt to understand the world.
claimEpistemological positions are not mutually exclusive; for example, an individual can be an externalist regarding knowledge while being an internalist regarding justification, or simultaneously a fallibilist and a foundationalist.
claimInternalists in epistemology only accept internal justifications for beliefs.
Epistemology (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy/Fall 2019 Edition) plato.stanford.edu Dec 14, 2005 4 facts
claimThe dispute between internalism and externalism regarding justification is a dispute about the nature of J-factors.
perspectiveInternalists argue that the reliability of a testimonial source is insufficient for making it a source of knowledge if the recipient has no evidential clue regarding that person's reliability.
claimEvidentialism is an internalist theory of justification, whereas reliabilism is an externalist theory of justification.
claimEvidentialism is typically associated with internalism, while reliabilism is typically associated with externalism.
Naturalistic Epistemology | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy iep.utm.edu 4 facts
claimInternalists hold that a belief is justified only if it is appropriately related to other mental states, whereas externalists hold that justification comes at least partly from external factors, such as the reliability of the process that generated the belief.
claimThe debate between internalists and externalists in epistemology concerns whether factors other than mental states contribute to the justification of beliefs.
claimDonald Davidson and John Pollock are naturalistic epistemologists who endorse internalism.
claimNaturalistic epistemology is not inherently committed to either internalism or externalism, though many naturalistic epistemologists are externalists who endorse reliabilist theories of justification.
Epistemology - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org 4 facts
claimEvidentialism is an internalist view asserting that justification depends on the possession of evidence, defined as any information in the individual's mind that supports the belief.
claimInternalism asserts that justification depends only on factors within the individual, such as perceptual experience, memories, and other beliefs.
claimRobert A. Wilson authored the article 'Externalism and Internalism in the Philosophy of Mind' for Oxford Bibliographies in 2023.
claimInternalism and externalism debate whether justification is determined solely by mental states or also by external circumstances.
Epistemological Problems of Testimony plato.stanford.edu Apr 1, 2021 3 facts
referenceRichard Fumerton discussed internalist and externalist perspectives on the epistemic role of testimony in a 2006 publication.
referenceMikkel Gerken analyzed the debate between internalism and externalism in the epistemology of testimony in a 2013 article.
claimB. J. C. Madison discussed internalism in the epistemology of testimony in a 2016 article in Erkenntnis.
Virtue Epistemology | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy iep.utm.edu 3 facts
claimErnest Sosa and John Greco have argued against internalism and advocated for externalism as the primary method to resolve skepticism.
claimVirtue reliabilist views in epistemology are likely to be unsatisfying to individuals with internalist sympathies because they prioritize externalist criteria over the internalist requirement for having an adequate reason for belief.
claimInternalism defines justification for believing a claim as the possession of an adequate reason for thinking that the claim is true.
Virtue Epistemology - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy plato.stanford.edu Jul 9, 1999 2 facts
referenceErnest Sosa's conventional virtue epistemology (1991, 2003) attempts to define knowledge as true belief held out of intellectual virtue and seeks to settle the dispute between internalists and externalists regarding epistemic justification through detailed definitions and counterexamples.
claimErnest Sosa applied his 'virtue perspectivism' to resolve disputes in contemporary epistemology, including debates between foundationalists and coherentists, and between internalists and externalists.
Virtue epistemology - Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy rep.routledge.com 1 fact
perspectiveProponents of virtue epistemology claim that it offers advantages such as bypassing disputes between foundationalists and coherentists regarding cognitive structure, avoiding skeptical worries, avoiding the impasse between internalism and externalism, and broadening the range of epistemological inquiry to include values like understanding and wisdom.
Virtue epistemology - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org 1 fact
claimErnest Sosa's account of virtue epistemology can circumvent Cartesian skepticism by requiring the interaction of externalism and internalism.