 Coherentism and classical foundationalism attempt to satisfy the Metaevidential Principle in a way that allows these theories to (a) defend, rather than simply postulate, the epistemic legitimacy of perception, and (b) satisfy the internalist demand that the factors relevant to the justification of a belief be internal to the agent. Internalist modest foundationalism does (b) but not (a); externalist versions do (a) but not (b). (Both reject the Metaevidential Principle.) Although it is possible to defend an externalist epistemology that is otherwise structurally similar to classical foundationalism or coherentism (Goldman 1986), extant externalist theories have followed modest foundationalism in allowing beliefs about external objects and properties to be epistemologically basic.