A guide to morality and different philosophies written by one of Hollywood's funniest showrunners/writers, Michael Schur
Rating: 4/5
You’ve taken the first step: deciding to try and be better
Try again, fail again, fail better - Samuel Beckett
No one is born inherently and completely virtuous. It must be learned
We becomes virtuous by doing virtuous things
Aristotle said constant learning, constant trying and constant searching
Avoid cruelty
Deontology: following the right rules no matter the consequences
Happiness is something subjective we can only find for ourselves
‘A person is a person through other people’
Not everything can or should be about morality
Moral dessert: the idea that if we do good deeds we should be rewarded. Don’t focus on that, do good deeds because you want to, not because you want recognition
Moral exhaustion: trying to do the right thing all the time is a pain in the ass
Break rules on 2 conditions: one is the rule is not obviously harmful to others and 2 is to acknowledge what we’re doing is not ideal
Our lives are our own and we shouldn’t feel bad about filling them with experiences and objects that give our lives shape and dimension
The most important part of becoming a better person is that we care about what we do is good or bad and try to do the right thing
‘Man’s destiny lies within himself’
We can acknowledge the fundamental absurdity of the human condition and exist within it
Saying that all we are is choices ignores the fact that choices are made for us
You can’t apply all ethical themes equally to all people because they aren’t living equal lives
A lot of life is just luck, good or bad
It’s ok to admit part of your success is luck
‘One of the most salient features of our culture is there’s so much bullshit’
To demand perfection or to hold people to impossible standards is to deny the simple and beautiful reality that no one is perfect
The trying to get it right is important. Keep trying
If a voice in your head warns you ‘this doesn’t feel right’, don’t ignore it - it’s there to help
2400 years ago, parents in Delphi in Greece wrote ‘know thyself’ and ‘nothing in excess’
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