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“Why this book?”
Michael Schur basically says:
“Ethics is confusing, but I tried to figure it out… so you don’t have to (but maybe you should).”
🧠 Core Idea: He stumbled into moral philosophy while writing The Good Place, and now he wants to share his crash course in a way that’s actually digestible and hilarious.
🎉 Vibe: Like having a beer with Aristotle and Eleanor Shellstrop at the same time.
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14 reads
🤔 Dilemma: Social white lies — do they count as wrong?
📜 Ethical lens: Kant (NEVER lie) vs. Consequentialism (depends on the result).
🎯 Takeaway: Ethics isn’t about always being right — it’s about thinking through why we do what we do.
🛡️ Joyful Verdict: Say the baby is “so expressive!” and move on.
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14 reads
🎨 Dilemma: What do we do with morally questionable creators (e.g., Woody Allen, Picasso)?
📜 Ethical angles: Separating art from artist.
🎯 Takeaway: It’s okay to feel uncomfortable. Your feelings matter. Try not to fund the bad behavior.
🎭 Bulletproof Hack: Support living, non-criminal artists you can feel good about.
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12 reads
🥊 Spoiler alert: No.
📜 Philosophy cameo: Thomas Hobbes — society needs rules.
🎯 Takeaway: The social contract exists to keep everyone’s nose intact.
🎈 Fun Thought: If you’re even asking this question, you’re already ethical enough not to.
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11 reads
🛒 Moral tension: Nobody’s watching… will you do it?
📜 Philosophy tie-in: Virtue ethics (Aristotle) — develop good habits.
🎯 Takeaway: Be the person who returns the cart. It’s a micro-good-deed that builds macro character.
🎖️ Foolproof Rule: Pretend your future self is judging you (because they are).
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9 reads
💣 More face punching?? We’re spiraling.
📜 Point: Empathy and shared humanity are the glue of society.
🎯 Takeaway: Your power isn’t in what you can do. It’s in what you choose not to.
🦸 Superhero Rule: The ethical person is basically Spider-Man in sweatpants.
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9 reads
📈 Shift: Less jokes, more growth.
📜 Answer: Progress over perfection. Moral growth is a journey, not a checklist.
🎯 Takeaway: Self-awareness, good questions, and trying again are the path to goodness.
🎉 Joy Hack: You’re not supposed to be perfect — just better than yesterday.
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9 reads
🤝 Core idea: Morality is about how we treat each other.
📜 T.M. Scanlon’s philosophy: Ethics is relational, not individualistic.
🎯 Takeaway: Being good isn’t just about you — it’s about creating a better “us.”
🌍 Joyful Reframe: It’s not just about being a good person — it’s about being good company in the world.
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8 reads
🚃 Iconic question: Do you pull the lever to save 5 people by killing 1?
📜 Moral thought exercise: No perfect answer.
🎯 Takeaway: Life is full of impossible choices. Ethics teaches us to live with complexity.
🎢 Fun Fact: Even ethicists don’t agree — and that’s the point.
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7 reads
🔑 Real-life ethics: Action over abstraction.
📜 Key principle: Use ethics as a compass, not a cage.
🎯 Takeaway: Think, try, learn, grow, mess up, apologize, try again.
💡 Foolproof Equation: Curiosity + humility + empathy = how to be “perfectly trying.”
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8 reads
💭 Michael’s mic drop: Trying to be good is itself good.
✨ Message: We’re not here to be perfect. We’re here to try. And that’s beautiful.
🎁 Joyful Moral: The pursuit of goodness is messy, funny, meaningful, and so very human.
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6 reads
“This book won’t make you perfect. But it might make you less annoying at parties and more patient at red lights.”
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7 reads
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