Summary of Michael Schur's How to Be Perfect

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.

Book Preview: #1 We should not punch our friends in the face for no rea­son, but it can be hard to de­ci­sion what to do in such an ob­vi­ous situ­ation. We should consider why it’s bad to punch our friends in the face for no rea­son, and that might help us make de­ci­sions about what to do in less morally ob­vi­ous sit­u­a­tions.

#2 The first theory we’re going to discuss is called virtue ethics. It defines good people as those who have certain qualities that they’ve cultivated and honed over time. But we immediately wonder if there is a single way to define a good person.

#3 Aris­to­tle’s most im­por­tant work is the Nico­machean Ethics, which de­fines what makes a per­son good.

#4 Aris­to­tle’s ul­ti­mate goal for hu­mans is hap­pi­ness. He claims that hap­pi­ness is the thing we want to be, just… to be it. It has no aim other than it­self. It’s the top dog on the list of things we de­sire.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Mar 8, 2022
• ISBN: 9781669357230

IRB Media

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Insights on Michael Schur's How to Be Perfect

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

We should not punch our friends in the face for no rea­son, but it can be hard to de­ci­sion what to do in such an ob­vi­ous situ­ation. We should consider why it’s bad to punch our friends in the face for no rea­son, and that might help us make de­ci­sions about what to do in less morally ob­vi­ous sit­u­a­tions.

#2

The first theory we’re going to discuss is called virtue ethics. It defines good people as those who have certain qualities that they’ve cultivated and honed over time. But we immediately wonder if there is a single way to define a good person.

#3

Aris­to­tle’s most im­por­tant work is the Nico­machean Ethics, which de­fines what makes a per­son good.

#4

Aris­to­tle’s ul­ti­mate goal for hu­mans is hap­pi­ness. He claims that hap­pi­ness is the thing we want to be, just… to be it. It has no aim other than it­self. It’s the top dog on the list of things we de­sire.

#5

The virtues of a person are the aspects of their makeup that we admire or associate with goodness. The virtues of a knife are those qualities that make it good at being a knife, and the virtues of a horse are the horse’s in­her­ent qual­ities that make it good at gal­lop­ing and other horsey stuff.

#6

We all have the po­ten­tial to become vir­tu­ous, but not all of us ac­QUIRE it. We all have a po­ten­tial to be­come virtuous, but not all of us ac­QUIRE it.

#7

We must practice all of the virtues, and develop a habit of doing so, in order to flourish. We were not born with ap­ti­tudes for these things, but with the ability to develop them through ha­bit­u­a­tion.

#8

The an­cient Greeks were ob­sessed with the role of teach­ers in re­ shaping peo­ple from un­formed lit­tle goobers into the civic-minded,