Morgan Scott Peck (1936–2005) was an American psychiatrist and best-selling author who wrote the book The Road Less Traveled, published in 1978.

[6] In his book, The Road Less Traveled,[7] he confides the story of his brief stay at Exeter, and admits that it was a most miserable time.

Finally, at age 15, during the spring holiday of his third year, he came home and refused to return to the school, whereupon his parents sought psychiatric help for him and he was (much to his amusement in later life) diagnosed with depression and recommended for a month's stay in a psychiatric hospital (unless he chose to return to school).

He then transferred to Friends Seminary (a private K–12 school) in late 1952, and graduated in 1954, after which he received a BA from Harvard in 1958, and an MD degree from Case Western Reserve University in 1963.

Peck's works combined his experiences from his private psychiatric practice with a distinctly religious point of view.

In his second book, People of the Lie, he wrote, "After many years of vague identification with Buddhist and Islamic mysticism, I ultimately made a firm Christian commitment – signified by my non-denominational baptism on the ninth of March 1980..." (Peck, 1983/1988,[8] p11).

In late 2009, almost 25 years after FCE was first founded, the organization resumed functioning, and began offering community building and training events in 2010.

[6] For example, in his book In Search of Stones,[9] Peck acknowledged having extramarital affairs and being estranged from two of his children.

It is, in short, a description of the attributes that make for a fulfilled human being, based largely on his experiences as a psychiatrist and a person.

The elements of discipline that make for such health include the ability to delay gratification, accepting responsibility for oneself and one's actions, a dedication to truth, and "balancing".

In the second part, Peck addresses the nature of love, which he considers the driving force behind spiritual growth.

(Peck, 1978/1992,[7] p281) Random House, where the then little-known psychiatrist first tried to publish his original manuscript, turned him down, saying the final section was "too Christ-y."

The book took off only after Peck hit the lecture circuit and personally sought reviews in key publications.

Peck expands on the work of Thomas Aquinas over 700 years ago, that love is primarily actions towards nurturing the spiritual growth of another.

Peck believes that it is only through suffering and agonizing using the four aspects of discipline (delaying gratification, acceptance of responsibility, dedication to truth, and balancing) that we can resolve the many puzzles and conflicts that we face.

[7] Peck discusses evil in his three-volume book People of the Lie,[11] as well as in a chapter of The Road Less Traveled.

[7] Peck characterizes evil as a malignant type of self-righteousness in which there is an active rather than passive refusal to tolerate imperfection (sin) and its consequent guilt.

In one case which Peck considers as the most typical because of its subtlety, he describes Roger, a depressed teenage son of respected, well-off parents.

With false rationality and normality, they aggressively refuse to consider that they are in any way responsible for his resultant depression, eventually suggesting his condition must be incurable and genetic.

"[12][circular reference] On the other hand, those who have crossed the line and are irretrievably evil are described as having malignant narcissism.

Some of Peck's conclusions about the psychiatric condition that he designates as "evil" are derived from his close study of one patient he names Charlene.

The original Judeo-Christian concept of "sin" is as a process that leads us to "miss the mark" and fall short of perfection.

Evil is an extreme form of what Peck, in The Road Less Traveled, calls a character and personality disorder.

Eventually, after having been referred several possible cases of possession and being involved in two exorcisms, he was converted to a belief in the existence of Satan.

Roberts' research demonstrates that groups that are exposed to Community Building achieve significantly better training outcomes.