What does externalism mean?
Externalism is a noun denoting the position that important features of the mind — especially the content of our thoughts and the meanings of our words — depend on factors outside the individual, in the physical and social environment. In philosophy of mind and language it stands opposed to internalism, which locates all such content within the thinker's own mental states. The most influential versions include Putnam's semantic externalism, illustrated by his famous Twin Earth thought experiment, and Burge's social externalism, according to which the community's linguistic practices help fix what a person's words mean. Beyond philosophy, externalism can more loosely describe any outlook that privileges outward circumstances, behavior, or appearances over inner life. It is a formal, scholarly term, encountered mainly in academic writing, and carries no strong emotional connotation, though its general use sometimes implies a criticism of superficiality.
nounThe doctrine or tendency of regarding external factors, rather than internal ones, as decisive — especially in philosophy, where it holds that the content of a person's thoughts and meanings depends partly on their physical and social environment rather than solely on what is 'in the head'. More generally, an emphasis on outward circumstances or appearances over inner qualities.
- In philosophy of mind and language: the doctrine that the content of thoughts and the meanings of words are partly determined by external, environmental, or social factors rather than solely by states internal to the individual.
- More broadly: emphasis on external conditions, circumstances, or observable behavior over inner experience or intrinsic character.
"Hilary Putnam's thought experiments gave powerful support to semantic externalism, the view that meaning is determined by the world as much as by the mind."
"Burge argued that a patient's arthritis beliefs could have content even if his community used the term incorrectly, a landmark case for social externalism."
"The novel critiques the externalism of a society that judges people entirely by their possessions and public image."
Rarely pluralized; the plural may appear when distinguishing different varieties of the doctrine.
"Twentieth-century philosophy produced several rival externalisms."
Philosophers call it the 'Twin Earth' result: whether your word 'water' means water could depend on a planet you've never visited.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of externalism
Externalism derives from 'external', from Latin externus ('outward, on the outside'), itself from exter ('outward, beyond'), combined with the suffix '-ism' marking a doctrine or tendency. As a philosophical term of art it developed in the twentieth century, particularly from the 1970s onward, when Putnam's 'The Meaning of Meaning' and Burge's work on content made it standard vocabulary in Anglophone philosophy of mind and language. Cognates sharing the Latin root include 'externalize', 'exterior', and 'extrinsic' (via a related but distinct Latin formation).
How externalism is actually used
A technical term of academic philosophy (philosophy of mind, epistemology, philosophy of language), where it is always contrasted with internalism. Outside philosophy it appears rarely, usually with a mildly critical tone implying superficial attention to outward things.
Easily confused with externalism
Internalism holds that mental content or justification depends only on factors internal to the mind, whereas externalism holds that such factors lie outside the head in the environment or social context.