How to Be Perfect (Unabridged)
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4.2 • 169 Ratings
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- $19.99
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- $19.99
Publisher Description
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 2,500 years of deep thinking from around the world. Read by the author, this one-of-a-kind audio production features guest appearances by members of the cast of The Good Place.
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. Okay, not quite. Instead, we’ll gain fresh, funny, inspiring wisdom on the toughest issues we face every day.
How to Be Perfect is narrated by Michael Schur, Kristen Bell, D’Arcy Carden, Ted Danson, William Jackson Harper, Manny Jacinto, Marc Evan Jackson, Jameela Jamil, and Todd May!
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Moral philosophy is a fascinating subject. Who wouldn’t want to learn to be a better person? The problem is that many philosophy books can be dense and boring. Enter Michael Schur, creator of the hit TV series The Good Place, who has written an easy-to-understand—and very funny—introduction to morality. Schur became interested in the topic when he began writing his iconoclastic sitcom about a selfish woman committed to improving herself in the afterlife, and he assumes we know as little about Descartes and nihilism as he did when he started. How to Be Perfect provides a brief history of philosophical thinking while also working as a sort of workbook for living in the modern world. For example, Schur explains the African philosophy of ubuntu by arguing why you should always return your shopping cart to the parking-lot corral. His everyman narration goes down smooth, and frequent cameos from the cast of The Good Place are a fun diversion. Laugh while you learn with this charming listen.
Customer Reviews
The first two parts are a bit of a slog, but all worth it for the third part
Michael Schur has taken the very complex and dense subject of moral ethics and presented a very thoughtful, humorous, and, as much as possible, succinct review. The first two parts of the book are a bit of a slog to get through all the different philosophical ethicists and their particular views. Still, it was all worth it to be able to relate these concepts to the more real-life situations in the third part. I found this book it to be relevant, humorous, and very applicable. I will now go back and enjoy The Good Place again with a whole different perspective. Thank you very much for this book. I highly recommend it! P.S. Your audio flourishes are GREAT!
Loved this! Amusing and concise
I love how all the complicated discussions about ethics was simply broken down in an entertaining way in this book.
Funny & Illuminating
I love this book. I enjoyed reading it and I learned quite a bit. It’s funny, it explains crucial aspects of various philosophies in simple terms, and it has helped me reflect on my own attempts to be a better human. (And don’t forget, knowledge beats cruelty!)