Question of the Day: Do you have to know why you know in order to know?

Answers
Internalists say Yes, while Externalists say no.

Reasoning and Justification
Subjective - You can't be blamed for what you beleve (or that it is reasonable given your circumstances.) It is relative according to your culture and to the individual. Internalists go along with this.

Objective - You must have the right relationship between beleif and objective truth. (It must be a causal relationship, one caused in the right way or by a reliable mechanism.) Externalists will go along with that.

Pojman suggests a combination of the two. "Externalism with internalism constraint."

Do we have control over our beleifs?

Theories on that:
Direct Control - We decide what to beleive by an act of will. This is difficult if not impossible for perception beleifs, logic and math, and basic historical beliefs.

Indirect Control - Decide through impartial weighing of evidence or conditioning yourself to favor what you want to believe. The impartial weighing may not count as you don't really control that. Conditioning is unlikely to yield true beliefs.

Closing Question: To what extent does our culture, upbringing and personal experience determine what we beleive?