How Ethics Can Help You Make Better Decisions | Michael Schur | TED

What would Immanuel Kant say about a fender bender? In a surprisingly funny trip through the teachings of some of history's great philosophers, TV writer and producer Michael Schur (from hit shows like "The Office" and "The Good Place") talks through how to confront life's moral dilemmas -- and shows how understanding ethical theories can help you make better, kinder decisions.
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[@katarinajanoskova]

I looove The Good Place! Thank you for writing it, your interest in philosophy, this talk, your book and whatever wonderful thing you'll do next!

[@anastasiakovalenko7375]

O

[@anastasiakovalenko7375]

@𓌂Pɪɴɴᴇᴅ Bʏ TED ll

[@NgocNguyen-pv6mf]

Anastasia Kovalenko s

[@haranmenon1929]

Samr

[@kaielvin]

I wouldn't have noticed he is behind the series without this comment.

[@amiensarabellis8391]

I value your sharing your thoughts and what you learned from this experience. I'm glad for all those who took from your talk some new thoughts and ideas that could broaden their understanding. I'm glad for your openness to questioning what you were doing. I'm pretty sure each of us would come to a decision based on our values. I'm glad for your sensitivity. It made me more aware of my motives. The other comments made me aware how differently people think. I value all that you did.

[@snowytyler3793]

This is the content I’ve been needing. The world has felt scary for a while and this is super calming.

[@KMEL121107]

Excellent talk, this guy indeed has a great sense of humor! Talking something deep but in a fun way. Love it!

[@thattimestampguy]

That’s nice dear.

[@djayjp]

Having a degree in philosophy, I actually gained a bit of insight into the application of the ethical theories discussed. Good stuff!

[@Therehabanddocumentationguru]

This is one of the better quality TED talks I have listened to. Thank you!

[@jennlam319]

What is Mose doing giving a TED TALK lecture 😂

[@dlmbs]

I'm a huuuuuge The Good Place fan. To the point that I've listened to their podcast and even bought Mike's book, How To Be Perfect. He actually told the same story he shared here in the book. Highly recommended!

[@Verity2true]

Great talk. Thankyou.

[@Lynette_Shine]

Helped me get a better understanding of normative ethics and how they apply to us as human beings. I'll keep reading and studying. Thank you!

[@edgardnunez5742]

Definitivamente Michael Schur encontró una manera genial de comunicar un tema tan complejo como lo es la ética, a través de un ejemplo cotidiano, que no tiene nada que ver con cuestiones laborales y/o profesionales, lo cual demuestra que la ética es algo intrínseco que debe estar presente en el ser humano. Es posible observar como la ética, los valores morales, los principios morales y la filosofía, están totalmente integrados; de hecho, se considera la ética como parte del conjunto de razonamientos lógicos y metódicos acerca de temas profundos y abstractos como la misma existencia y la verdad. Los valores morales son las recomendaciones que orientan las acciones y sobre todo la actitud mostradas por las personas, cuando estas se relacionan entre sí, y dan cierto sentido de dirección a la vida. En resumen, no importa si se trata de un tema personal, o de algo relacionado con mi profesión, la ética viene siendo esa "conciencia" que nos habla al interior y nos dice que algo no es correcto o no está bien, que aquello que estamos pensando llevar a cabo, sea una acción o una manifestación escrita o verbal, no me ayudará con mi integridad, y que de darse a conocer a un público, podría perjudicar mi imagen o la de alguien más.

[@znbooorable]

Professors he contacted must be so proud after watching this. Well done

[@chrisaugustin9181]

The Good Place is an amazing show

[@user-pk3em5ul3j]

This was a great talk by Michael Schur. I believe it was greatly executed by Michael’s ability to tell a personal story, his response to an ethical issue, and then tying his situation in with ethical approaches. I appreciated Michael bringing up ethical approaches such as Utilitarianism, Deontology, and Virtue Ethics. For those of you who are unaware, Mill’s theory of Utilitarianism states that actions are good if they benefit the majority (i.e. whatever promotes the greatest happiness is best) and focuses on results. Kant’s theory of Deontology states that an action is moral based on whether that action is right or wrong under a series of rules rather than consequences (Universal law) and focuses on the action. Aristotle’s theory of Virtue Ethics emphasizes the moral virtues of an individual rather than the result or action. Hence, a virtue is the mean between excess and deficit extremes. If I was to read what I just typed, I would’ve found it a little more difficult to understand vs. how Michael explained these theories in relation to his personal dilemma. I especially appreciate Michael stating that “by reading theories of ethics and understanding what they say, what they mean, how they purport to help us make better decisions and become better people … just reading these theories is no guarantee that you will actually make the right choice when you’re inside one of these complicated and tangled ethical dilemmas”. I agree with Michael that having a knowledge of ethical approaches “increases our chances of success at simply being human beings” but there is no guarantee we will make the right choice every time.

[@LuvEthicals]

I agree, understanding ethical theories can help us make better decisions by providing a framework for thinking about ethical issues and evaluating different courses of action. Ethical theories offer different perspectives on what is morally right and wrong, and can help us to identify and evaluate the values, principles, and norms that underpin our decision-making. Schur effectively simplified these ideas and provided easy to follow examples of each through his own personally dilema. Often time we as a collective do not think about situations in these ways but having different perspectives like this available can help us make more informed and thought out decisions.

[@JoseHernandezAbogadoCR]

Definitivamente muchas actividades en las que las personas nos enfrentamos en la vida cotidiana está basada en decisiones, que tiene que ver con la etica, para tomar las mejores decisiones sin perder nuestros valores. Podemos decir que tenemos que tomar las enseñanzas de la filosofía, de la forma de analizar la toma de decisiones, y ser mejores personas. Definitivamente el video nos deja una gran enseñanza.

[@JoseHernandezAbogadoCR]

I think is very important to do things thinking about the impact of our actions on others people life, if people acts with ethics can make better decisions, and the result will be better people, better businessmen, better human relations... and we need to remember that people is what people do, not what people says... it´s a very value and good video about ethics.!!

[@Ilovecerealcerealcereal]

The Good Place is my favorite show of all time!I have rewatched it many many times it’s like my comfort food ❤😊

[@jomusicv]

The video has been up for 3 minutes. The video is 11 minutes long. People are commenting about their opinion on the video that is about ethics.

[@dickottel]

you can watch at 2x speed

[@lechihieu2606]

@@dickottel 😂 3×2=6

[@jomusicv]

@@dickottel An 11-minute video at 2x speed would take 5 1/2 minutes to watch, not 3.

[@Kometheus]

@@jomusicv You don't have to watch all of a movie to know it's trash.

[@jomusicv]

@@Kometheus that’s so ethical

[@johnbee7729]

Love it. Thank you. Now, where is the History of Ethics aisle at the used book store ....

[@usr604]

For a fraction of a second I was like what's Mose doing on TED stage?

[@kimberlyhoward4032]

This is awesome 👍🙂 what a great example for our children.

[@MYfriendsknow]

Wonderful - Thank you!

[@varshavyas6234]

Thank you so much.

[@invox9490]

In my youth I had in school "Religion & Morals" and I hated it because I was already raised Catholic why would I ever need this? Some years later they removed it and bullying started to raise in he school and with social media raising everything started to worsen. Now a similar non-mandatory class was instated called "Citizenship" and I think it is one of those thing we thing we don't need until we see our youngs going through life without it.

[@michaelvout7813]

Superb. Thank you.

[@workofheartllc]

This is old ive seen this before but its awesome 👌🏼😂

[@user-bc1kk8dm3w]

Ted talk keeps me woke, current , informed and every ethics subject I have learned has improved my reasoning and perspective of things. My arguments are now factual with reasoning that support my premises making me heard, understood and respected. Thank you Ted talk.

[@vaughnbarker1450]

thnk you I aboslutely love this and your point of view

[@Svetlana.Russian_Language]

Thank you very much.

[@Oliveir51]

We need more ethics with science and tevhnology as well

[@rameshg2717]

I always thought of impact of my actions on others. The only conclusion I got was, to not do nothing. But, if I don't do anything, that too hurts some people and I became wrong. Only final conclusion I got was no matter what u do, other's will be affected.

[@lunny3715]

They basically *WANT* me to suffer inside because of THEIR own issues. So I do *JUST* that. But *ANYTHING I SAY OR DO* is gonna somehow offend you. SO LIKE, WHAT IN THE WORLD DO YOU WANT FROM MY LIFE THAN??

[@lunny3715]

They basically *WANT* me to suffer inside because of THEIR own issues. So I do *JUST* that. But *ANYTHING I SAY OR DO* is gonna somehow offend you. SO LIKE, WHAT IN THE WORLD DO YOU WANT FROM MY LIFE THEN??

[@donaldbrenes5192]

Todos los días nos enfrentamos a situaciones o problemas que definen nuestros comportamientos o conductas, eso es la ética. La forma en que nos conducimos por la vida y de cómo afrontamos los problemas nos definen como personas, entre más conozcamos del tema y profundicemos en literatura y casos como el anteriormente expuesto tendremos más herramientas que nos ayudaran a enfrentar diferentes situaciones del día a día.

[@vevitier]

Turns out Mose is a pretty well read guy!

[@kevinvty]

I’m surprised there arent a lotta office comments here

[@heatherjrose]

Michael, I am going out on a limb that you’re going to read this (but a fairly secure limb since it’s within the first 100 comments, and you read all or most of the spiegel im spiegel comments). Your work is inspiring, on many levels, it is a pearl in the torrential sea of our current reality. Keep up the great work.

[@snowytyler3793]

Definitely a Chidi 💕 lol I am Elenor causing a trash storm asking Janet, “is this a scheduled trash storm”? But this is so super relatable I might be a little Chidi lol.

[@lh7369]

Mose is giving a ted talk. It’s like a fever dream

[@samandarsultonov2804]

So good speech

[@ungarbagebin]

The world shines on Mose

[@aniketyadav7023]

So...... I see where chidi comes from lol

[@bntagkas]

reducing suffering>>increasing pleasure promoting the creation and wellbeing of life, especially conscious life, should be always the goal these 2 are probably all you need to settle any ethical dilema i thought them up on my own on the spot noone reads my books i dont have any and pretty much 99% of all ethics and philosophy written by humans of earth is not worth the paper it was written on it might not seem that way, but it is

[@saprilaa]

I assume Leslie-Ron was characters he made based on his early philosophical study. And The Good Place characters was the advance version one

[@nakulgopakumar1463]

Damn Moses is so smart !

[@djayjp]

Wtf are you talking about?

[@nakulgopakumar1463]

Michael schur played a character named Moses in the 'The office'

[@djayjp]

@@nakulgopakumar1463 Lol ah ok sorry

[@vivianaespinoza5281]

Why do I get the feeling this man might do a voice in a Disney movie or pixar

[@shanesantana54]

This man is amazing

[@thattimestampguy]

Hollywood to German Philosophy 0:44 Mouthwash direction follower 4:57 Kant 5:35 BIG PROBLEM Overshadows Little Problem excuse • Problem Priority Tactic 6:36 Utilitarianism (is politically useful, but not good inherently) 8:07 You Messed Up 9:30 Moral Dilemma is more likely than being a Jeopardy contestant

[@KrwiomoczBogurodzicy]

Bortles! Jacksonville Jaguars!

[@ethanz3837]

The Utilitarians would be on the side of huirricane relief, depending upon the allocation of the funds in New Orleans. Concerning moral good, they are all about cold hard benefits and costs, not necessarily someone's inflated attachment to a perfect looking car. There are a lot of details in this story that would have been needed for a correct conclusion, but the utilitarians stand AGAINST overweighing the emotional whims of your nearby human community. They stand for the equal value of all human life. They would, for instance, probably favor giving 100k to 1,000 Africans needing water, rather than give it to 1 American to go to college. This story is similar, but that 100k wouldn't go as far with Red Cross Katrina relief .

[@hestinurandini7543]

I think it's right if ethics can help in making better decisions. Furthermore, ethics can make us better people through the right decisions we make. In this world, we must not be selfish, but others too. When we treat others badly for our benefit, It is not impossible for others to do the same. Therefore, it is important to learn ethics and apply them in making decisions. By studying ethics, we will consider the consequences of our decisions as to whether good or bad and not to use others for personal gain.

[@maskros434]

this screams good place hahahahsa i knew i would love him

[@user-to1qv7oz6g]

when people in high positions practice questioning all their lifespans in the best jobs ever

[@sirameerhamza]

Great video!

[@kehreyannedean6315]

You listened to the entire 10 mins in under 4 mins and decided it was great???

[@MargaretAdsitScribeAway]

Do you have reccomendations for books literature to explore ethics? I know that is a bigger question. Also, have you ever heard of a place online where you can propose ethical debates and actually have ethics professors, priests, monks etc. provide their perspective on an ethical dilemma?....and I don't mean Quora or some siloed forum.

[@divyanshuji6879]

I want to debate on it

[@BCtruth]

There are a couple of social media places to discuss ethics (and much more): Clubhouse and Discord. There are people from all over the world using these sites every day, discussing almost any topic you can imagine, or you can start your own discussion.

[@user-un1kb4jl8h]

There are many ethical theories and viewpoints from virtue ethics focusing on characteristics like generosity and courage to utilitarian ethics focusing on the results of actions. Scholars and leaders get into debates about which viewpoint is the most ethical as well as which viewpoint should moral dilemmas be filtered through. I think there is no one rule to which if we follow completely in which the world be okay, much less a better place for you and me. We are all going to face moral dilemmas regardless of your occupation, location, culture, gender, race, etc. Instead of falling apart what if we used those opportunities to challenge our own personal views as well as do the best that we can to navigate the situation respectfully and wisely. To echo Michael, having a general understanding of the framework of ethics can help us navigate moral dilemmas in a way that stays true to who we are as individuals and what we personally value and believe while keeping the “right thing” in mind as well.

[@Kitsutsu3124]

Це Майкл з Телебачення Торонто?😯

[@anonym58063]

"Mose" - Mose

[@gbadeboojomo5118]

Thank you so much.. this is really gonna help for my exams.. Phil 222.

[@dragonmaster909]

Sounds like something Michael Scott might do

[@user-to1qv7oz6g]

when theres a you know what i thought we could be more committed

[@John83118]

Absolutely captivating material; similar to a book that left a lasting impression. "Game Theory and the Pursuit of Algorithmic Fairness" by Author Name

[@quaidboal4643]

The “ya fucked up” was so Eleanor shellstrop

[@lahiruparanamana3442]

Ayo! Who let out cousin Mose!

[@maxgiloi8581]

This guy exploited the situation with the little scratch in his car to get himself easy 850 dollars. While making a blog about it and involving 100 people might not be ethical, i absolutely think its a great idea to speak to his consience and make him donate the money he legally ripped of of him.

[@jakevendrotti1496]

Nah. Michael Schur is worth over $100 million and he's fussing about $800? That's pocket change to him. To the guy whose car he claims his wife barely scratched $800 might be a lot, and the scratch might have been more than what we're hearing about here. We don't have photos. We just have a guy with clout, success, and a mic talking about ethics and how he heroically turned his wife's fender bender into a fundraiser for Katrina survivors. It's a Ted talk, not a legal defense floor. Don't know why he'd even start off with this story that casts doubt on his probity. Should have included a photo of the fender if he wanted to tell it. It's really good that he questioned his own extremity and changed his mind, though practicality alone suggests he should have just paid the guy and been done with it.

[@sreemanthreddy6952]

You never mentioned what car it was.

[@MYTENGRIWAY]

TENGRI BLESSING!👏👏👏🇰🇿🇰🇿

[@mayurkalsekar524]

How's the farm Mose?

[@mayurkalsekar524]

@𓌂Pɪɴɴᴇᴅ Bʏ TED are you ted bundy?

[@user-ug2hk3go6i]

Why were there applause following the "you fucked up"?

[@leemoraschi264]

0:42 0:43 0:44

[@vladimirbachynsky1035]

I love how this guy is so conscientious, but I don't think what he did was wrong. He made the man an offer: care about the nearly invisible scratch, or let me donate the money you would have made to charity instead. It's up to the guy to accept the terms or not. If he doesn't, pay him. If he does, the man realizes that money could be better served if given to a charity.

[@itshazelhoff]

I can hear and see Chidi.

[@SaumyaGupta-ye2lz]

Mose!!!!

[@pauljackvasilyev3870]

My friend in Texas referred me to this channel you make a lot of sense but I do not understand anything until she referred me to a financial counsellor in USA that help me to craft my portfolio and over a year we have been working together making consistent profit enough to get me a new apartment and care for parents.

[@pauljackvasilyev3870]

@Rose Allen it is not a he. It is a lady. I see most things she says and use to carry out trades are done by Steve. that is how I know she knows what she is doing. in her technique of over night trading she says she use stop loss and take profit strategy. She trade on her account and it reflects on your own.

[@pauljackvasilyev3870]

@Rose Allen Her name is ASHLEY AIRAGAHI. Look her up online, she is quite popular in America and a certified financial adviser.

[@pauljackvasilyev3870]

@Rose Allen I have referred a few of my friends, she is working with them currently and they have improved greatly with their finances. I have made 153,000 usd since Nov with a capital of 10,000 usd that i initially deposited, she collects her fees after you have made profit and her style is such that I am in control of my funds and to a large extent also what happens on my account.

[@alicemiriah]

Oh wow these bots are really evolving lol

[@kamotetopz6776]

I knew Mose is an intellectual.

[@ungarbagebin]

The world shines on Mose

[@PinkYellowGreen2023]

It is often the unethical decisions of the followers that affect leaders. And as a great leader you have to know when to do the work of your followers, right? That let's them know you are of them, right?

[@Ram-en6lx]

Is that Mose?

[@Freemindz418]

👏👏👏👏

[@FridolinPengg]

thats like Jaden Smith saying "omg can we talk about the political and economic state of the world right now"

[@fawadali4692]

Please show us vedios with subtitles

[@djayjp]

There's always a delay with adding them. Usually takes a few hours.

[@miky8788]

..this was a great channel ..

[@Kometheus]

Exactly

[@ligiasommers]

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🙏🏻✨

[@siddharthchaubal9881]

I will top in my ethics exam now ….shukraan

[@almollitor]

You know the guy just pocketed the $800 and didn't fix the bumper, right?

[@LeRoiJojo]

An actual good talk on TED? What is this, 2015?

[@user-ov2fc5sd1e]

It's 2022

[@Kometheus]

This sucks

[@uglyindian4401]

He seemed nice...

[@jeshao]

👍👍

[@I.____.....__...__]

3:57 It's not specifically _wrong_ to care about cars getting little dings or scratches, but it's definitely not _right_ either. When I was a child, every little imperfection in everything seemed like a massive deal, they felt like whatever it was that had been marred was ruined. I eventually grew out of it. Now, every dent and cut and such in anything I have (including my body) is just another story. People put WWWWAAAYYY too much value on cars, obsessing over them and _freaking out_ if they get so much as a small scratch on the bumper (that's literally what bumpers are for 😒). It's likely because they're so expensive, so people feel upset if they get even the tiniest imperfection (completely oblivious to the many other things rotting and rusting and clogging away under and inside the car 🙄). Unless a car is an expensive showpiece (in which case it shouldn't even be on the street 😒), then NO, people should NOT whine and worry about minor cosmetic damage to cars. 6:48 Careful with the wording there. Utilitarianism prioritizes maximizes happiness and well-being and reducing pain and suffering _for all involved,_ otherwise you end up win a grey-goo situation where you could argue that you're maximizing happiness _for one person_ at the expense of another, or that you'd minimize suffering by eliminating all life, and so on. It's sort of like an evil-genie situation, you have to be careful and very specific with the wording to remove ambiguity and room to twist it. 7:23 I'm not seeing the problem. How is it a bad thing if everybody knows that they won't be able to demand $800+ for a tiny scratch? Maybe they _should_ fear that happening to them, so they don't take advantage of people. 😒 10:35 Or you can have a pro-athelete take the shot for you, just don't whine when Don Meredith doesn't even take off his jacket when doing so, it's because it was cold in Montana while he was practicing and didn't want to alter his throw. I wonder how much of this incident contributed to him making _The Good Place._ 🤔

[@djayjp]

No, his point about everyone experiencing a bit of fear and unease regarding the car was instead that they could find themselves victims of a mass persecution campaign for something not even necessarily wrong. Ie the "you gotta crack a few eggs to make an omelette" pragmatism.

[@lunny3715]

Soo if someone just did "minor" damage to your house, a prized possession because it's an expensive thing YOU WORKED FOR, PROPERTY THAT BELONGS TO *YOU*, you'd be ok with that? Would you be fine with me maybe shooting a stray bullet at your house, or crashing a car into your house, maybe "accidently" setting your house on fire, you'd be ok with it because it's just "minor damage"? And it's not just about an "imperfection", it's about the fact that it was their hard earned property that gets them moving and going in this everyday moving society.

[@e-w-4174]

Smuuuug

[@samandarsultonov2804]

Hi everyone I really want to communicate with someone who is native speaker in English, could you help me please

[@Bluenews5]

😂 ethics and corruption are the only ideas that revive faster than a zombie.😂

[@djayjp]

Go vegan! Respect life, your body, and the environment. You say you love animals? Practice it.

[@levitopy]

He gave his opinion but didn't extend on ethics much, this makes me wonder if he will teach something he doesn't know much about

[@e-w-4174]

Dude he has an interest in the subject and literally made a tv show about being ethical, The Good Place, what are your credentials, being a big stinky mean duderino or what

[@junevandermark952]

Being that most of the world's people are religious, I suggest that their so-called ethics are based on what they believe the creator of the universe expects of them ... and the results were and are not at all ethical. Example as follows ... While being certain that they were following “God’s” will, the judge-mental god depicted in the bibles gave devout readers the self-righteous right, to in turn use the words in their books to judge, shun, torture and murder others. From the book … The Death Penalty: An American History … author … Stuart Banner. “If Moses is our lawgiver at this time,” smirked John Edwards, “Let us obey him, not in part only, but wholly, and put every sabbath breaker, blasphemer, and adulterer, to death.” From the book ... The Final Inequality, by L. J. Ludovici. "Morals at any given moment have always been as good, or as bad, as our imaginations credit them, for the morals (from the Latin, mores: customs) means simply customs, and they keep changing all the time in all the corners of the world."

[@PabloGonzalez-uf1qf]

Put the Playback Speed on 2x and suddenly anyone can be Ben Shapiro.

[@thattimestampguy]

No duh

[@happycolours8551]

Get you under 1 hour ticket here

[@djayjp]

?

[@Kometheus]

This would've been a waste of money.

[@dylpickle0927]

Yeah you should go up there and tell us about how youre an incel

[@jd030517]

Is anyone going to talk about how this guy finessed $800 from this dude for some bs while he had a philosophical crisis?

[@FatmaYousuf]

no

[@sanamuhammed3735]

The core of ethics lie in the Holy Book of Quran. Try reading it

[@witness1603]

do you actually believe the garbage in this comment?

[@user-xb5yx8qh4g]

Anyone from jain university?

[@anjjjali]

Me😂

[@user-xb5yx8qh4g]

@@anjjjali malayali anno?

[@anjjjali]

Aa atheee

[@user-xb5yx8qh4g]

@@anjjjali insta ondo? I just wanted to ask somethings

[@anjjjali]

Id para njan request idam

[@ryanhoops15]

First

[@cSeattle]

Also reading the Bible. Jesus tells us how we should act and behave through his word

[@moreyblitzin1528]

This is why digital markeeters financially entertain thee ideology LIKE NOOOOOOO we don't like U A.I Bots. Tell the IRS us hard workers need our TreePaper back , we don't want to hear this tec🤢🌐