Michael Schur's How to Be Perfect is a humorous yet insightful guide on ethics, blending philosophy with everyday scenarios. Reviews praise its accessible, witty approach to complex topics and practical applications. Some criticize its light tone as overly simplistic. Overall, it's celebrated for making philosophy engaging and relevant.

Readers who enjoy humorous yet insightful takes on ethical dilemmas would relish Michael Schur's How to Be Perfect. Fans of Schur's TV show The Good Place or books like David Sedaris's Me Talk Pretty One Day and A.J. Jacobs's The Year of Living Biblically will find its blend of humor and philosophical inquiry particularly engaging.

How to Be Perfect by Michael Schur explores various moral philosophies through a humorous and accessible lens, synthesizing insights from Schur's work on The Good Place. From Aristotle's virtue ethics to Kant's deontology and Scanlon's contractualism, Schur examines these theories while embedding personal anecdotes. He concludes by discussing the complexity of moral actions and responsibilities in contemporary society, ultimately encouraging continuous ethical self-improvement.

Humorous / Inspirational / Informative / Contemplative / Heartwarming

- How to Be Perfect is inspired partly by Schur's work on the TV show The Good Place, which explores ethical dilemmas and moral philosophy.
- Michael Schur, the author, is also a co-creator of well-known TV series such as Parks and Recreation and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
- The book features illustrations by Jonny Sun, a multifaceted artist known for his engaging and whimsical style.

**Immanuel Kant**  
An 18th-century German philosopher and key figure in deontological ethics known for the categorical imperative, he is depicted as stern and routine-driven, inspiring memorable caricatures in ethical discussions.

**Aristotle**  
An Ancient Greek polymath whose virtue ethics and concept of the golden mean are explored, he is introduced with imaginative dialogues due to the lack of personal historical details.

**Jeremy Bentham**  
A British philosopher recognized for utilitarianism and innovative ideas, like the panopticon, he is portrayed as an eccentric with a preserved skeleton known as an auto-icon at University College London.

**John Stuart Mill**  
A British philosopher who refined utilitarianism by introducing higher and lower pleasures, he is noted for overcoming personal struggles and for advocating for minority rights within the framework of utilitarianism. 

**T. M. Scanlon**  
An American philosopher known for contractualism, he is a personal favorite of the author and frequently featured for his approachable and reliable insights into minimal acceptable social behavior.

**Peter Singer**  
An Australian utilitarian philosopher known for his strong stance on wealth distribution and ethics, characterized as a lone-wolf warrior with consequentialist insights that supplement contractualist theories.

**Todd May**  
An American political philosopher and advisor who provided philosophical expertise and commentary, adding context and clarity to Schur’s work alongside humorous anecdotes.

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Part 1: “In Which We Learn Various Theories About How to Be Good People From the Three Main Schools of Western Moral Philosophy That Have Emerged Over the Last 2,400 Years, Plus a Bunch of Other Cool Stuff, All in Like Eighty Pages”

Introduction-Part 1, Chapter 2

How to Be Perfect Introduction-Part 1, Chapter 2 Summary & Analysis

Part 1, Chapters 3-4

How to Be Perfect Part 1, Chapters 3-4 Summary & Analysis

Part 2: “In Which We Take Everything We’ve Learned, and We Start Asking Some Tougher Questions, and We Use the Stuff We’ve Learned to Try to Answer Them, and We Also Learn a Bunch More Cool Stuff”

Part 2, Chapters 5-8

How to Be Perfect Part 2, Chapters 5-8 Summary & Analysis

Part 3: “In Which Things Get Really Tough, but We Power Through and Complete Our Journeys, Becoming Perfectly Virtuous and Flourishing Deontologically Pure Happiness-Generating Super-People, and Also There’s a Chapter With Some Cursing in It, but It’s for a Good Reason”

How to Be Perfect: The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question

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