esternalisti

Esternalisti, or externalists, are philosophers who defend externalism—the view that some epistemic, semantic, or mental phenomena depend on factors outside an individual's internal mental life. Externalism is typically contrasted with internalism, which locates the relevant dependencies within the subject’s own mental states or accessible justification.

In epistemology, externalists argue that knowledge and justification can hinge on external conditions. Reliabilism, associated with Alvin Goldman, holds that a belief amounts to knowledge if it is produced by a reliable process, regardless of whether the thinker can assess that reliability. Causal theories of knowledge, such as those advanced by Fred Dretske, tie justification to correct causal connections between belief and the fact believed. Nozick’s tracking theory is another influential externalist account. These approaches aim to address Gettier-style problems by appealing to factors beyond conscious awareness, though they face ongoing questions about epistemic normativity and intuitive appeal.

In the philosophy of language and mind, semantic externalism contends that the meanings of words and the contents of thoughts depend on external factors, such as the surrounding environment or linguistic community. Hilary Putnam’s Twin Earth thought experiment argues that terms like “water” can have different extensions in identical internal thoughts, depending on the external world. John Burge’s work on social externalism emphasizes how community and language use shape mental content, illustrated by cases involving everyday beliefs about one’s surroundings. These ideas have stimulated extensive debate about how language, thought, and meaning relate to the world beyond the individual mind.

Externalism remains a central position in analytic philosophy, influencing debates on knowledge, justification, meaning, and mental content, while facing ongoing criticisms from internalist and normativity-focused perspectives.