How to Be Perfect: The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question Paperback – April 18, 2023

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.

Simple yet effective; humorous and quick. If you wanted to be guided through the basics of western moral philosophy while getting a few laughs in, I heartily recommend this book. Not a deep analysis of anything, but now I understand the difference between virtue ethics and deontology, why we (maybe!) should put shopping carts back, and Moral Exhaustion!

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.”

I really enjoyed reading this book. It’s a great introduction to moral philosophy. The author is very funny and that helped lighten some heavy philosophical topics in the book. I would certainly recommend it for anyone interested in learning about moral philosophy from the ground up.

(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.

Great read for any fan of The Good Place or philosophy.