Psychology Decided to Build a Science upon a Concept with No Objective Definition

Psychology defines itself as the scientific study of mind and behavior. Yet there is no scientific consensus on what the “mind” actually is.Not even close.Think about how “crazy” that is. No pun intended.Physicalists say it’s brain chemistry. Functionalists say it’s software. Phenomenologists say it’s subjective experience. Pick your camp — that’s just the beginning of the confusion.The field has been arguing for nearly 150 years. And counting.The surprising thing is this isn’t a minor footnote. It’s a structural flaw at the foundation of an entire field of science.How do you build a science upon an undefined concept?This is just one reason behavioral science has openly described itself as “pre-paradigmatic” and an “incoherent mess.” Instead of harmony and agreement, you get what Arthur Staats described directly in 1999 — a “would-be science” plagued by “mutual discreditation, inconsistency, redundancy, and controversy.”Sounds fun. 😄To compound matters, the field didn’t stop there. It labeled itself a science with a nonsense definition — then proceeded to conflate biology (a noun, the person) with behavior (also a noun, distinctly not the person).This is where the fun really begins. And why, more than a century earlier in 1892, William James — a founder of American psychology — could see the whole mess unfolding. He put it bluntly: “This is no science; it is only the hope of a science.”UBM resolves both — with ONE ELEMENTAL STONE.The fix is straightforward: remove the undefined variable entirely. Goodbye, “mind.” You’re very important — just not elemental.Focus strictly on what is objective, empirical, and scientifically discernible — BEHAVIOR. What influences human action in the moment and shapes it over time.Four elements. No fifth. One year. Zero point zero refutations.Mind — removed.Conflation — removed.Coherence — emerges.D. O. N. E. 🙌Simple. Elegant. Truth.“Truth is ever to be found in simplicity, and not in the multiplicity and confusion of things.” — Isaac Newton This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit habits2goals.substack.com/subscribe