How to Be Perfect: The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question
Recommended on Hacker News, very simple and engaging, it introduces ethics and philosophy with clarity and lightness. It is by the creator of The Good Place. Recap here. I would call it an excellent introduction to ethics, given that Michael Schur is very funny, learned as he created the show, and tackles very dry topics in a witty and accessible way. Chapter by chapter, he takes practical questions (like “Why will I not punch you?” or “Is it good if I want to be seen tipping but would not do it in secret?”) and builds useful philosophical concepts on top of them. The ending is outstanding, where he recaps his lessons in the form of a letter to his children. I wish more books on complex subjects were this straightforward, though a professional philosopher might find it too easy. For a quick recap,
“Thousands of years ago, in a part of Greece called Delphi, some people built a temple. They were worried about their kids too … so they chiseled a couple of sayings into a column of that temple to tell their kids, and their grandkids, and their great-grandkids, in as few words as possible, how to try to pull off the nearly impossible task of living a good life on earth. Here’s what they wrote:”
“Know thyself”
and
“Nothing in Excess”
Main philosophies (one per chapter, comparing their views in real contexts)
- ⚖ Aristotle’s ethical virtues: our aim is to flourish (a deeper form of happiness), and to do so we need to cultivate virtues (generosity, patience, wisdom) at the right level (the golden mean), neither too much nor too little. We do not punch innocent people because that would be an excess of aggression, Aristotle would say.
- 🛠 Utilitarianism of Bentham and Mill: very simple in principle, do the most good for the most people. In practice it is hard to calculate in complex cases and can lead to extreme scenarios like killing one person to give organs to others.
- 🔲 Kant’s deontology: Kant studies duties and builds a very strict moral structure you must follow, like NEVER LIE. Do not just do what you want; ask if it would be acceptable for everyone to do it. This is more demanding and can lead to harsh outcomes (for example a polite murderer asks where your brother is, and you cannot lie).
- 📌 Scanlon’s contractualism: the basis of The Good Place through the book What We Owe To Each Other, which is a substantial read. This philosophy introduces a criterion for right and wrong: it depends on the majority. It is like asking one child to cut the cake and the other to choose; we should make reasonable choices knowing we could be on the other side. I agree, but it remains complex in some cases, and some may care little about it.
- 📐 James’s pragmatism: often framed as the end justifies the means, similar to utilitarianism.
- 💀 Existentialism of Sartre (briefly) and Albert Camus: nothing has inherent meaning, so a person can either choose suicide, cling to some set of rules like religion or family, or live freely with the knowledge that the universe has no meaning and we will return to nothing. So let us do good and help one another in this life.
Minor philosophies
- Ubuntu (Zulu) is a concept similar to contractualism: do good for the community before yourself.
- Moral exhaustion, coined by Schur and seen in The Good Place, about how tiring it is to always try to do the right thing.
- Ayn Rand and Peter Singer’s visions of extreme utilitarianism, not endorsed by the author.