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Morality is something that’s on all our minds, even when it’s not. One definition says that it’s “the categorization of intentions, decisions, and actions into those that are proper, or right, and those that are improper, or wrong.” But if you’ve been occupying a human body, you already know that intentions, decisions, and actions aren’t always straightforward or linear. And when it comes to right or wrong, that’s a recipe we all have different ingredients for. How do you decide proper or improper at an individual level, or harder still, as a culture, society, or group?
Michael Schur has been trying to make it easier to get the gears turning. He’s the creator of the popular show The Good Place. And, if you haven’t watched it yet, you can stop reading this article and go watch it. It makes you ponder and question the idea of heaven, hell, and everything in between.
How To Be Perfect: The Correct Answer To Every Moral Question by Michael Schur
This book tries to answer the moral dilemmas we all grapple with. It tries to do these things through the lens of deontology, utilitarianism, existentialism, ubuntu, and more. Philosophers have wondered about these things for centuries, and Schur draws on their wisdom. His book is for if you’ve ever wondered things like: “Do I have to return my shopping cart to the shopping cart rack…when it’s so far?” or “Should I be separating the art from the artist?” or even more morally complex questions.
Now, if you’re a philosophy major or someone who’s read the works of the greats, you might not be super impressed by this piece in this book. It’s meant as a starting point into philosophy, and to get you thinking about difficult things while offering tools to do so. It’s for if you’re looking for something super accessible, and witty and fun, that still challenges your idea of good and bad while also trying to present a case for good.
To be clear, this book isn’t an instruction manual. It won’t actually make you morally perfect. But again, if you’ve been occupying a human body all these years, you’ll know that half of morality is about introspection and reflection. And How To Be Perfect does create the mental space to do that.
The audiobook is read by a full cast of the actors of The Good Place. As someone who couldn’t get enough of the show, I was so happy to hear all their voices and visualise all their character quirks. I received it as a part of the ALC program by Libro.fm, which you should absolutely consider using for audiobooks. There, you can get all your favourite books, find new titles, all the while supporting independent bookstores!
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