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How to Be Perfect: The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question Hardcover – January 25, 2022

by Michael Schur (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 2,150 ratings
Goodreads Choice Award nominee
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From the creator of The Good Place and the cocreator of Parks and Recreation, a hilarious, thought-provoking guide to living an ethical life, drawing on 2,400 years of deep thinking from around the world.

Most people think of themselves as “good,” but it’s not always easy to determine what’s “good” or “bad”—especially in a world filled with complicated choices and pitfalls and booby traps and bad advice. Fortunately, many smart philosophers have been pondering this conundrum for millennia and they have guidance for us. With bright wit and deep insight, How to Be Perfect explains concepts like deontology, utilitarianism, existentialism, ubuntu, and more so we can sound cool at parties and become better people.

Schur starts off with easy ethical questions like “Should I punch my friend in the face for no reason?” (No.) and works his way up to the most complex moral issues we all face. Such as: Can I still enjoy great art if it was created by terrible people? How much money should I give to charity? Why bother being good at all when there are no consequences for being bad? And much more. By the time the book is done, we’ll know exactly how to act in every conceivable situation, so as to produce a verifiably maximal amount of moral good. We will be perfect, and all our friends will be jealous. OK, not quite. Instead, we’ll gain fresh, funny, inspiring wisdom on the toughest issues we face every day.
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    304 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Simon & Schuster
  4. Publication date
    January 25, 2022
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 1 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1982159316
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1982159313
  8. See all details
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Previous page
  1. What are we doing? Why are we doing it? Is there something we could do that’s better? Why is it better?
    Highlighted by 1,897 Kindle readers
  2. Act so that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in that of another, always as an end and never as a means only.
    Highlighted by 1,243 Kindle readers
  3. If we want to flourish, we need to attain virtues. Lots of them. In precise amounts and proportions.
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From the Publisher

HOW TO BE PERFECT

HOW TO BE PERFECT

HOW TO BE PERFECT

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Schur distills what he has learned about ethics into How to Be Perfect, an enjoyable next step for anyone who watched the series and for anyone else who wants to learn about moral philosophy while avoiding the usual dry earnestness…The narrative voice is not that of a gentle professor but of a slightly manic bar-room joker who is actually funny and genuinely excited to share his passion with anyone who will listen...one of the most accessible entry points to philosophical ethics available—in short, a very good place to start.” —The Wall Street Journal

“[H]eartfelt and funny…a relatable and consistently amusing introduction to practical philosophy. Like The Good Place, this is a humorous and thought-provoking journey into some of life’s hardest questions.” —Kirkus (starred review)

“As someone who worries that a deep dive into morality will ruin my fun and problematic life, I was certain this book wouldn't be for me. Boy, was I wrong! It's so brilliant and funny and warmly written you don’t realize you’re becoming a better person just by reading it.” —Mindy Kaling

“Hilarious, thought-provoking, and ridiculously silly, How to be Perfect is a great read for anyone who loved The Good Place — or anyone who wants to be a good person. And as a bonus, once you've read the book, you become perfect.”—Jake Tapper

“When I was asked to write a blurb about Mike Schur’s book on ethics, I thought: no sweat, I’ll just skim a few chapters, make something up, and then lie about having read it. After reading a chapter or two, I realized I had missed the point of the book. So I read the whole thing, and I can honestly say it's brilliant. How to be Perfect takes the delightful, funny lessons of The Good Place, and applies them to everyday life.” —Ted Danson

“An enjoyably boisterous guide to the moral life. If you want to become morally better and don’t mind being entertained in the process, you’ve picked up the right book.”—Jeff McMahan, Philosophy Professor, Oxford

“How to be Perfect is a kind, thoughtful, incredibly funny reflection on what it is to be a good human being. As a human being myself, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I am certain that other human beings will enjoy it as well.” —Steve Carell

“Have you ever wanted a friend to explain ethics so that you could understand the subject completely with minimal effort on your part? Well, meet your friend Mike Schur. This book will help guide you through the thorniest moral conundrums with clarity and hilarity, and it will greatly up your chances of ending up in…the Good Place.” —Kristen Bell

“[A] zippy guide to achieving moral perfection… His chatty, informal, and often irreverent style does well to balance the serious inquiries. This smart romp is sure to pique those who tend to wonder about the right way to be.” —Publisher’s Weekly

“Read How to Be Perfect and laugh while you learn how to be a better person. And imagine what a great passive-aggressive gift this book would make! Hand it to someone and say ‘I saw this and thought of you.’ Then they say ‘Oh, did you read this?’ and you smile and say ‘I don’t need to.’” —Amy Poehler

About the Author

Michael Schur is a television writer and producer who has worked on shows like The Office, Master of None, The Comeback, and Hacks, and created or cocreated Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn 99, The Good Place, and Rutherford Falls. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife Jennifer, and their two kids, William and Ivy.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster (January 25, 2022)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1982159316
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1982159313
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.7 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 2,150 ratings

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  1. Todd May

    Todd May

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
2,150 global ratings
Moral Philosophy Without All The Seriousness
3 Stars
Moral Philosophy Without All The Seriousness
If you think the title of the book, "How To Be Perfect: The Correct Answer To Every Moral Question," is a bit smarmy, you won't be surprised by the approach author Michael Schur takes to the subject of moral issues. Schur, after all, is a comedy writer whose credits include "Parks and Recreation" and "The Good Place."The book's premise is serious, breaking down the concepts of Western philosophical thought from over 2,500 years. He covers virtue, deontology, utilitarianism, contractualism, and the principles of Aristotle, Kant, and Camus.Schur does what I think he intended. He has taken a complex subject that most people ignore and by injecting humor and practical, relatable situations, he has drawn in the average reader who doesn't have an advanced degree in psychology.Some parts of the narrative are profound. "If we care about anything in this life," Schur writes, "we ought to care about whether what we're doing is good or bad." While others are irreverent, he explains Ayn Rand's "rational egoism" philosophy as: "Fxxk all y'all."Readers will walk away with an understanding of ethical concepts they may have been familiar with but may never have contemplated the deeper underpinnings of why we behave the way we do and what compels us to moral behavior.https://amzn.to/3TqQV2i
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Top reviews from the United States

David Ellis
5.0 out of 5 stars That time Mose Schrute helped teach me to be a better person...
Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2022
Verified Purchase
(That headline is a light-hearted dig because I know Mike Schur kinda hated playing Mose on The Office. In the spirit of the book: Mike, I apologize. :-) )

I heard about this book on the Office Ladies podcast when they interviewed Mike. They mentioned the title of the chapter about whether you really HAVE to return your shopping cart and I was sold--bought it the next day. I've always seen that as the lowest bar, minimum possible thing that humans can do to make the lives of other humans better--and I'm constantly shaking my head at the fact that so many people have such disregard for others that they don't return their damned carts! It's frustrating!

Anyway...this book does not disappoint. Think of it as a humorous Cliffs Notes distillation of the many philosophies of morality. It's a book that makes you laugh and makes you think. And it really does give you some easy to understand (but hard to follow in some cases...that's the nature of being better, it's hard) guidelines for the things one can do to be a better person. It's so worth the read.

Great stuff, Mike. I'm gonna go stream The Good Place now.
10 people found this helpful
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kwpgator
5.0 out of 5 stars Funny book
Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2024
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I love this author. It’s easy to read a bit at a time for good entertainment.
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DJ
4.0 out of 5 stars Light, funny, irreverent, but entirely serious
Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2022
Verified Purchase
This is a short, gentle, practical, populist introduction to the world of moral philosophy -- light, funny, irreverent, but entirely serious. I’m glad I read it. It kicked up a lot of dust for me and led me to ponder deeply some big questions. I’m grateful.

Fair warning, however – several things bothered me. I found much of the humor flippant to the point of annoying. I also felt the book contains a few too many cheap shots at real-world folks whose conduct the author considers morally repugnant. Most seriously, I think the book’s tone and content is too politically polarizing. The author leans to the left politically (as do I) -- fair enough. But he seems blind to the possibility that there are thoughtful people of good will who see things differently. He seems to presume (unconsciously?) that liberal values are morally superior, spends too much time outlining standard defenses of those values in a tone that suggests no reasonable person could disagree, and is often dismissive of conservative views.

On page 142 the author says “we should remember how powerful the simple act of conversation can be, to help us navigate these choppy waters.” I agree. In my view, however, these conversations are most valuable when they take place among people with different views who engage respectfully in a sincere attempt to understand and appreciate other perspectives. Here, I think, the book falls short. But I honor and appreciate Michael Schur’s sincere effort. He cares deeply. He’s trying. And as he makes clear throughout the book, that’s the most important thing of all. At some level it’s all any of us can do. We try, we fail, we try again, and we keep on trying. Before he even begins the book’s introduction, the author allows Maya Angelou to speak beautifully on this point: “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
43 people found this helpful
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Reid McCormick
5.0 out of 5 stars philosophy is fun!...
Reviewed in the United States on September 21, 2023
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A philosophy book written by a comedy writer? Yes, please!

First off, if you are a fan of the Good Place, you will like this book. It is almost an extension of the show; a weave of comedy and philosophy.

If you don't like the Good Place, you won't like this book.

It was fun reading about some deep, old philosophical questions in a lighter book. Other than the author's seemingly endless use of footnotes to make another joke, I enjoyed the book.
3 people found this helpful
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K
5.0 out of 5 stars funny and easy to read
Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2024
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arrived in good condition/new. funny philosophical book, easy to read.
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Barbara Saunders
5.0 out of 5 stars Just what I wanted.
Reviewed in the United States on April 5, 2024
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Just what I wanted.
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Cynthia Gianturco
3.0 out of 5 stars Kind of a hard read
Reviewed in the United States on October 22, 2023
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The Good Place is my new comfort show. I've watched through it at least a dozen times. It makes me want to be a better person. Someone in a Facebook group mentioned this book and I bought it without hesitation.

Philosophy has always been an interest and this book definitely covers a lot in a small amount of space. It helped me to understand the show more, too, and it was fun reading about certain philosophies and remembering how Michael Schur applied them into the show.

Philosophy is a hard read already and this book simplifies it. It's laid out decently. But what made it difficult for me was all the footnotes. SO MANY FOOTNOTES!! And maybe 1/4 of them are useful.. the rest are just distracting little jokes. It took me out of what I was learning and I'd have to go back and reread a bit. Ignoring the footnotes is certainly an option, but some of them do have good information in them that I didn't want to miss out on.

Honestly, I don't know who to recommend this book to.. if you're looking for a comedy, the philosophy makes it a hard read.. if you're looking for philosophy, the comedy is super distracting.

I still absolutely love the show, though. Watch The Good Place.
3 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Rue mm bee aww yoo wam
5.0 out of 5 stars Timely Seller
Reviewed in Canada on October 8, 2023
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Arrived early and the quality was good. Totally recommend
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Luvela
3.0 out of 5 stars Meh
Reviewed in Mexico on April 26, 2023
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Meh
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Vittorio Di Bonaventura
5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it!
Reviewed in Spain on September 16, 2023
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I study Philosophy and I'm one of the biggest The Office Fans ever. I hadn't watched The Good Place when I read this, but the moment I finished it, I did. Mike Schur is a genious and he certainly knows how to make complex concepts easy to understand. It was very insightful, very straight forward. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to whoever loves Philosohy and Ethics
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Théodore
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful !
Reviewed in France on February 11, 2023
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Great book, highly recommend it !
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Green900
5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 27, 2022
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Thoroughly enjoyable book. To give you a bit of a background about myself, I'm not someone who's that much into philosophy but nonetheless, it has been a topic that I had been curious to explore. As a major fan of Micheal Shur's work from the office, good place and parks & rec I was very curious to give this book a try. Especially after watching the good place which explores a lot of interesting philosophy concepts, I was keen to understand Schur's outlook.

I can safely say that this book did not disappoint and was a delightful read. Books regarding philosophy can be a chore to read however Schur's narrative makes the novel very compelling and at no time did I ever feel like the book was ever too dense or dry. The structure of the novel flows very nicely from one chapter to another and the concepts are really built on nicely on top of one another. Coming from someone who has no context to any real philosophy as such, I found everything very easy to follow. On top of the content and the themes explored, Schur has great humor and his style just makes the book such an enjoyable read. One of the funniest side editions is how he uses footnotes in the book. Usually, footnotes are just for additional context which one tends to pass over but in this case, they're filled with such funny insights and comments that you can't help but read all of them. What's more is that he relates each concept very nicely with personal examples which helps add to the overall engagement when reading.

Overall excellent book. Of course if you're looking for a hardcore philosophy read then this is probably not the novel for you, but for most of you who are just looking for something light and have an interest in the subject matter - I cannot recommend this book enough. An extremely interesting book along with Schur's own personal insights and life experiences makes this a very worthwhile read.
2 people found this helpful
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