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How to Be Perfect

The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question

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How to Be Perfect

By: Michael Schur
Narrated by: Michael Schur
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About this listen

From the writer and executive producer of the award-winning Netflix series The Good Place that made moral philosophy fun: a fool-proof guide to making the correct moral decision in every situation you ever encounter, anywhere on earth, forever.

How can we live a more ethical life?

This question has plagued people for thousands of years, but it's never been tougher to answer than it is now, thanks to challenges great and small that flood our day-to-day lives and threaten to overwhelm us with impossible decisions and complicated results with unintended consequences.

Plus, being anything close to an 'ethical person' requires daily thought and introspection and hard work; we have to think about how we can be good not, you know, once a month, but literally all the time.

To make it a little less overwhelming, this fascinating, accessible and funny book by one of our generation's best writers and adept minds in television comedy, Michael Schur, boils down the whole confusing morass with real life dilemmas (from 'should I punch my friend in the face for no reason?' to 'can I still enjoy great art if it was created by terrible people?'), so that we know how to deal with ethical dilemmas. Much as Chidi used humour and philosophy to make Eleanor a less selfish person, Schur takes us on a journey through the 2,500-year discussion of ethics, sketching a road map for how we ought to act along the way.

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. Okay, not quite. Instead, we'll gain fresh, funny, inspiring wisdom on the toughest issues we face every day

With contributions from Professor Todd May of Clemson University, who served as an advisor on The Good Place, this is a brilliant, clever and hugely entertaining book about one of the most important topics in the world.

'The problem is, if all you care about in the world is the velvet rope, you will always be unhappy, no matter which side you're on.' (Tahani Al-Jamil, The Good Place)

©2022 Michael Schur (P)2022 Simon & Schuster Audio
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What listeners say about How to Be Perfect

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Perfect combination between textbook entertainment

I love how entertaining the book is while it still does a good job in explaining some advanced moral philosophy topics.

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Awesome book

One of the best books I’ve ever read. Not just about ethics but in general.

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A fascinating beginners guide to moral philosophy

A great starting point for anyone vaguely interested in moral philosophy. Even if it’s just puzzling through some of the anecdotes, you will finish enriched in some way.

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Brilliantly written, endlessly funny

This book is one of my instant favourites. Michael Schur and the cast of The Good Place bring Schur’s writing to life, yet again bringing moral philosophy and ethics into the mainstream, with his characteristic mix of serious concepts and witty humour. Easy to access descriptions of some of the most famous western thoughts on moral descriptions. Schur’s books is a must-read for anyone looking to ‘Become a better person today, than they were yesterday.’

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A really entertaining learning experience

This book is a great listen for anyone who wants to learn and be entertained - regardless of whether you’ve seen The Good Place. Having the actors from the series read segments or different through processes of the book was a refreshing way to deliver a difficult and complex (and often boring) topic. It can be hard to follow at times, but stick with it as it becomes clearer in the end.

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Very good

Philosophical ideas presented in an easy to understand manner with a little humour to keep it light. Well worth reading.

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More good place points

I absolutely loved this. As I've hit 30 and about to become a father for the first time, I've found myself looking at how I can be better for my son compared to what I look back on with my parents. I've read the stoics and looked at the works of the old schools of thought, this brings these thoughts and ideas bang up to date with some really helpful scenarios and great modern examples. Michael Schur is truly a great a writer and I bow to him and will revisit this book now and then. as long as it doesn't class as excess in what will be my moral exhaustion.

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Everyone should read this

I constantly wonder whether I’m doing the right thing. Not in a productive way, more of an overthinking way. This book not only guides you through moral philosophy in a fun. light and memorable way, but it also enables you to forgive those little moments that wake you up in the middle of the night, like: ‘I didn’t offer so and so a second cup of tea!’ And remember that you are still a good person as long as you’re trying.
Everyone should read this book, and everyone should watch The Good Place

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Great way to start Ethics and Morals

Having the cast of The good place just adds loads.
I’m not in any way shape or form a philosopher.
If you haven’t seen The good place, then do and read or listen to ‘The Trolley problem’ as well.
The foot notes are well done and add humour as well as being informative.
Well worth a listen, probably multiple times.
I love the the concept about everyone bring in the RPG (role playing game) of life, towards the end of the book, where everyone has been dealt a set of starting parameters for their life and how some get lucky with the stats and location and brains and money etc and how we should always be aware that our starting conditions and just plain coincidences have a major effect on how we turn out, and the better the hand we are dealt the more we owe to everyone thing else.

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Accessible and funny

Very accessible summaries of key ethical theories. The delivery was light and funny. I finished it in two days and it was a great refresher of some of the most interesting things I learn in undergrad philosophy.

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