Toward a useful mass movement

Abstract

Psychology has failed to reach its full potential as either a science or a profession. The inability of psychologists to generate a shared, general understanding of their subject matter and fundamental differences between scientific and nonscientific views of human behavior in society at large interact to render psychology's contributions to the world's most pressing problems much less potent than might otherwise be the case. The Tree of Knowledge (ToK) System affords new opportunities both to define the discipline of psychology and to examine the epistemological interrelations between the institution of science and other societal institutions, such as law, governance, health care, the arts, and religion. In this article I articulate how the foundation can be laid for the development of a useful mass movement that could transform the discipline of psychology in a manner that unleashes its constructive potential, while at the same time it attempts to address many of the concerns about the proposal raised by the contributors to these two special issues. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol.