Internalism and Externalism

Recently these terms have become part of the standard jargon of philosophical discourse, and have become central to a couple of important debates.

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. One strand of externalism is reliabilism, another is loosely called the [causal theory of knowledge]?.

Philosophy of Mind:

Please add info here if you know it.

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