Moral Philosophy:
In contemporary moral philosophy Internalism is the view that moral beliefs function as a motivating factor. That is the internalist believes that there is an internal connection between her belief that "X ought to be done" and her motivation to do X. In the same way an externalist would argue that there is no essential internal connection between moral beliefs and motives. An externalist would say that there's no essential reason that the belief "X is wrong" leads to a desire not to do X. It is likely that this use of these terms comes from W.D. Falk's paper Ought and motivation (1948).
Epistemology:
In contemporary epistemology the belief that everything necessary to provide justification for a belief is immediately available to the consciousness is called internalism.
Externalism in this context is the view that there are factors other than those which are internal to the believer which govern whether one can be warranted in calling that belief knowlege. One strand of externalism is reliabilism, another is loosely called the [causal theory of knowledge]?.
Philosophy of Mind:
Within the context of the philosophy of mind externalism is the theory that mental states are actually dependent on their relationship to the external world. Externalists generally do not merely believe that thoughts or other mental states are caused'' by external forces, but also that thought, feelings, and all of the other mental states could not exist if except as part of a world external to thought. Internalism in this context is precisely the opposite. They would claim that there is nothing essential to the concept of a mental state which requires the existence of an external world.
![[Home]](wikipedia.png)