RaveOprah DailySchur’s gift to the reader is his ability to distill the writing of ancient philosophers such as Aristotle and Socrates, more recent ones such as John Stuart Mill and Jeremy Bentham, and modern thinkers such as Pamela Hieronymi and Peter Singer into breezy, engrossing chapters. It’s as if the author has his arm around your shoulder and is whispering in your ear, Come on, give it a go; this is going to be fun. It’s a lively romp through moral philosophy that’s not dumbed down to be the philosophical equivalent of the chicken dance ... I’m relieved that Schur doesn’t give us 12 rules to live by, or a fixed list of ways to be good. How to Be Perfect is joyously absent of the bossing around you get from certain self-help scolds. Instead Schur’s approach is flexible–he offers lots of ways to examine a situation and make moral decisions. As we continue to navigate the new world we live in, Schur gives us not one road map but many ... I’m not a doctor, but as bibliotherapy, I prescribe How to Be Perfect to anyone trying to make moral choices in a complex and confusing world—which is all of us.
