Peck finds it necessary to define some technical terms and redefine several common words.

Discipline: "the techniques of suffering, means by which we experience the pain of problems in such a way as to work through them and solve them successfully, learning and growing in the process." [pages 17-18]

"Delaying gratification is a process of scheduling the pains and pleasures of life in such a way as to enhance the pleasure by meeting and experiencing the pain first and getting it over with." [page 19]

"Bracketing is essentially the act of balancing the need for stability and assertion of the self with the need for new knowledge and greater understanding by temporarily giving up one's self--putting one's self aside so to speak--so as to make room for the incorporation of new material into the self." [page 73]

"I define love thus: The will to extend one's self for the purpose of nurturing one's own or another's spiritual growth." [page 81]

"Psychiatrists call this process of attraction, investment and commitment 'cathexis' and say that we 'cathect' the beloved object." [page 94]

"As human beings grow in discipline and love and life experience, their understanding of the world and their place in it naturally grows apace. … This understanding is our religion." [page 186]

Grace: "a powerful force originating outside of human consciousness which nurtures the spiritual growth of human beings." [page 260]

"I define evil, then, as the exercise of political power--that is, the imposition of one's will upon others by overt or covert coercion--in order to avoid extending one's self for the purpose of nurturing spiritual growth." [page 278]

The most important term, spiritual growth, isn't defined until near the end of the book--probably because Peck doubts the reader would accept this definition any earlier. On page 280 we read: "We are now at the point where we can define spiritual growth as the growth or evolution of consciousness." Evolution toward what? Godhood. "We are growing toward godhood. God is the goal of evolution." [page 270]

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