From the creator of The Good Place and the co-creator of Parks and Recreation comes How to Be Perfect — a hilarious, thought-provoking guide to living an ethical life, drawing on 2,500 years of deep thinking from around the world.

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, pitfalls, booby traps, and bad advice. Fortunately, many smart philosophers have been pondering this conundrum for millennia and have some 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.

Author Michael 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, readers 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. OK, not quite. But at the very least, we’ll gain fresh, funny, inspiring wisdom on the toughest issues we face every day.

Michael Schur is a television writer and producer who has worked on shows like The Office, Master of None, The Comeback, and Hacks, and created or co-created Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn 99, The Good Place, and Rutherford Falls. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife Jennifer and their two kids, William and Ivy.

Tickets

Most tickets include a copy of How to Be Perfect (exceptions are noted on Seattle Arts & Lectures ticketing website). Books will be shipped by a partnering bookstore to the ticket holder’s door shortly after the event.

About Seattle Arts & Lectures

Seattle Arts & Lectures (SAL) cultivates transformative experiences through story and language with readers and writers of all generations. This program is part of their SAL Presents series, featuring authors, artists, and prominent thinkers discussing their latest works, as well as other exciting literary surprises. Learn more about SAL programs here.

Presented by Seattle Arts & Lectures.