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

by Michael Schur

a liar knows the truth and deliberately speaks in opposition to it.

bullshitter, however, is “unconstrained by a concern with truth.”

What he cares about is what people think of him.

The bullshitter has only one goal: to make the listener think of him as a certain kind of person, whether it be a patriot, a moral avatar, a sensitive and caring soul, or whatever else advances his personal interests.2 “The essence of bullshit,” said Frankfurt, “is not that it is false but that it is phony.”

What do we hope will happen when we apologize? When we face our fear of embarrassment, brave the shame and flushed face and shaky voice and admit our wrongdoing? We simply hope that whoever we’ve wronged will recognize our sincere regret and our desire to be a little better today than we were yesterday.

I’m placing a decent-size bet on the idea that understanding morality, and following its compass during decisions great and small, will make you better, and therefore safer.

Not safer from harm, necessarily—though I hope for that too—but from all of the traps that modern life sets, especially for people lucky enough to be born into privilege.

What am I doing?

Why am I doing it?

there something I could be doing t...

Why is it ...

that we should care whether we’re doing something good or not,

and thus try to do the best things we can.

the categorical imperative might

two-page Quick-Start Guide to this whole project:

You are people on earth. You are not alone here, and that means you owe the other people on earth certain things.

owe them, more or less, is to live by rules they wouldn’t reject as unfair (assuming they’re decent, reasonable people).

You can think to yourself, before you do something, “Would it be okay if everyone did this?

Think about what you’re about to do, and imagine the result.

and think about whether what you’re about to do will result in more total sadness or happiness. This one is tricky, but sometimes it’s the best way to find an answer.

But hopefully, by trying over and over, you’ll get closer and closer to getting it right. The trying is important. Keep trying. Over the course of

You might have to draw and redraw the lines between “good” and “bad” over and over, and that’s fine. The important thing is that you keep drawing them.

Our default setting is to think about ourselves—how to keep ourselves happy and safe and protected.

Sometimes that’s good! We have integrity, which means (in this case) “a sense of wholeness, of being undivided.”

So, being raised in America, you need to start thinking about other people a little more.

Keep trying. Choosing to not try is still making a choice, and it won’t make you (or anyone else) a better person.

Know thyself. and Nothing in excess.

because too much (or too little) of anything will screw you up.

Know thyself. Nothing in excess.