How to Be Perfect

The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question

By: Michael Schur

Narrated by: Michael Schur, Kristen Bell, D'Arcy Carden, Ted Danson, William Jackson Harper, Manny Jacinto, Marc Evan Jackson, Jameela Jamil, Todd May

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!

Critic reviews

"Michael Schur and the cast of "The Good Place" once again collaborate, this time to ponder today’s toughest moral questions using philosophical views from the East and West. Schur delivers hilarious sarcasm as he tackles ethics and explains how to balance morality and achieve virtue. Friendly and inviting sounding, he is able to take the difficult, oftentimes dry topic of philosophy and make it engaging and entertaining. Using a simple and steady pace, Schur's narration is coupled with signature voices from the show, including Ted Danson and Kristen Bell. The entire cast makes this production an intriguing and funny way to introduce or reintroduce oneself to philosophy and achieve goodness."

Didn’t teach me how to be perfect, but taught me how to try

I’m not at all surprised that I loved Schur’s writing or moral philosophy, since I loved both in the Good Place, but I WAS surprised how much I loved the audiobook version. Every section had me analyze myself and how I should make decisions. The only times I zoned out were when I was thinking of how it could apply to me. I never get through an audiobook or a self-help book (I’m a text and fiction girl), but this had me hooked and I looked forward to listening to it everyday. Also, those voice cameo were *chef’s kiss*

What a great read! Fun and funny

Really enjoyed this book. It makes you think but it makes you laugh even more

Relatable and coherent explanation of philosophy

My husband and I both learned so much from this author. Thoughtful and well-written.

Fantastic!

Is ‘audiobook’ even an adequate descriptor? Such fantastic narration, transitions, guest voices, music... This is in a category of its own. I’d listen to more audiobooks of they were all of this quality. Amazing content and writing, I already owned the book but was so happy to have found this format.

Entertaining and thoughtful

This book attempts to make moral philosophy fun. And to a large extent, it is successful! The narration is especially well done.