How to Be Perfect: The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question

Well-written, funny, extremely accessible overview of major schools of philosophy. I will reread this book many times.

(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.

Love listening to Mike on the Lebatard Podcast and this book had his same style and humor. He’s super insightful and knowledgeable and makes digestible philosophical quandaries relatable and poignant for the average reader. A few chapters could have been fleshed out a bit, but it’s a perfect beach weekend read for anyone interested in the state of the world and being a good human.

Entertaining and educational. Fun to listen to. I didn’t want it to end.

I enjoyed "The Good Place" so much that I dove into this book (first on Audible). I loved it so much that I purchased a physical copy of the book to highlight and make notes. Just like the show, this book highlights the complexities that we as humans face when faced with moral and ethical values. I highly recommend this book for anyone looking to dip their toes in moral ethics and philosophy. If you love "The Good Place" as much as I do, you will likely get a kick out of listening to it on Audible. Having members of the cast read parts of the book was not only entertaining but also enlightening.

I liked, no, I loved The Good Place, and while I watched it the first time because of the story and actors, my many subsequent viewings were because I wanted to dive into the ethics more. I never thought I’d be that guy, but here we are. Turns out, the same is true for Michael Schur, and I’m so happy he wrote this book about his journey and how that translated into the show. This book has been fantastic. It’s helped me put some names and descriptions on to gut feelings I already had, and it’s introduced me to concepts that I can use to continue my own personal growth. Actually, that’s my review right there: I feel like a better, more well-rounded person after reading this.

The first part of the book is very well done. It's witty and charming, and it explains ethics in a very accessible way. The second part is more or less the same. Enter the third part, however, and you're in for a witty and charming explanation about why being ethical demands that you be a liberal/progressive. The first two parts get five stars, but the third gets one star for being a tone-deaf monologue asking, "Why can't those darned deplorables wrap their heads around this?" I can certainly look past political disagreements for the sake of discussion, but I can't seem to shake the idea that Schur believes that 21st century liberalism is the pinnacle of ethics and that the nuances of historical figures' contemporary contexts are no excuse for their lack of 21st century liberal-formed ethical theory. Likewise, those who might consider themselves conservative (or just not as squarely on the left as him) just don't care about other people--and that's clearly unethical.

Having thoroughly enjoyed The Good Place, I knew I was going to want to read this book. Though I bought both print and audiobook (CD) versions, I chose to start with the audiobook, not least of all because the cast of The Good Place (and a surprise guest, as it turns out) participated in the reading. I listened to the whole thing (yes, all 9 hours) in basically one sitting, while I worked. Michael Schur has an engaging, conversational tone, so the recording sounds more like a conversation than someone reading a book. Each chapter is introduced by Ted Danson, who you can't help but picture in his Good Place Michael suit. For the most part, it's easy to pick out the Good Place cast members where they appear, though I think there are a few parts where D'Arcy Carden was reading when I thought it was Kristen Bell (she apparently sounds much different when she's not in Janet mode). If you're at all familiar with The Good Place, you'll recognize some of the subjects covered in this book, particularly the Trolley Problem, Kant, and the irrational hatred of Hawaiian pizza. The section on existentialism is great; not only does he nail Sartre, he also manages to refer to Camus as a "stone cold hottie". (You probably won't see that in any other philosophy books!) Of particular note is the way footnotes are handled. Each shift from narrative to footnote is signalled by a tone; a slightly lower tone signals the return back to the text. I found that this actually added to the sense of the audiobook being more like a conversation, since conversations are frequently filled with asides, explanations, and the occasional smart-alecky remark. Overall, it's probably helpful to think of this book—particularly in its audiobook format—as an extension of The Good Place. Schur started working on the book during the show's run, and it basically expands on many of the themes explored on the show. Like The Good Place, this book will get you thinking about Stuff, but not so that your eyes will glaze over or your head will explode—even when you get to the thorny bits.

Meh

Great book, highly recommend it !

El libro está súper genial y muy bien escrito. Quería leer cosas de filosofía luego de ver The Good Place, pero no quería nada pesado ni complicado de leer. Cuando vi que el creador de la serie tiene un libro de eso mismo, no me resistí. Está súper bien como explica diferentes corrientes filosóficas. Justo lo que quería y buscaba.

Who doesn't want to be perfect? I'd also certainly like to be able to answer every moral question with certainty and grace. As a fan of the show that inspired the book, I was pleasantly surprised at the depth of the information presented in the book. There is a lot to learn about philosophy and life and it is presented in a humourous, joy-filled way. I think it's a great read and I will probably end up reading it a few times for all of the well-researched philosophy to sink in.

I really liked this book. It is written so that even a normal person can develop a basic understanding of moral philosophy. The thought experiments are very well described which makes it feel like an interactive experience.