Epistemic Internalism

Bibliographic Data

ID4079053
AuthorsBjc Madison, B J C Madison (0000-0001-7909-0050, The University of Notre Dame Australia, corresponding author)
Year2010
Volume5
Issue10
Pages840-853
Publication date2010-10-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePhilosophy Compass (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1747-9991 • E-ISSN: 1747-9991
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1747-9991.2010.00333.x
OpenAlexW2335611021
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited65

The internalism/externalism debate is of interest in epistemology since it addresses one of the most fundamental questions in the discipline: what is the basic nature of knowledge and epistemic justification? It is generally held that if a positive epistemic status obtains, this is not a brute fact. Rather if a belief is, for example, justified, it is justified in virtue of some further condition(s) obtaining. What has been called epistemic internalism holds, as the label suggests, is that all the relevant factors that determine justification must be 'internal' (in a sense that needs to be specified). Epistemic externalism is the denial of internalism. Epistemic internalism about justification is the subject of this article. After introducing the central intuitive considerations that have tended to motivate internalism, this paper will explore different ways of construing the internalist position (or family of positions). In addition to classical formulations, more recent formulations will be discussed, concluding with a discussion of an emerging position known as 'Epistemological Disjunctivism', which its advocates claim preserves the most important features of more traditional forms of internalism, while avoiding their difficulties. Epistemological Disjunctivism is particularly worthy of attention since if true, it promises to bridge internalist and externalist epistemologies, bringing a rapprochement to two sides of what may otherwise appear a deep and intractable debate about the fundamental nature of epistemology

Epistemology · Externalism · Internalism and externalism · Epistemology, Ethics, and Metaphysics · Philosophy · Philosophy and Theoretical Science · Psychological and Educational Research Studies

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