The Limits of Empathy 8th Grade Quiz 4/12/2021

Which of the following best describes Brooks’ central claim in the text?

• While empathy encourages caring feelings towards others, it alone does not drive people to act on their feelings in the same way as a sense of responsibility.

• Empathy provides people with the emotional capacity to care for those who are suffering and drives them to help others.

• Feeling empathy for others is a self-serving emotion, as it provides people with the sense that they are good even when they ignore suffering.

• It is best not to feel empathy for others, as people tend to take advantage of the sympathy they know they can inspire in empathetic people.

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Which of the following best describes how the author makes his claim?

• The author compares how likely empathetic people are to take moral action with people who have a sense of duty.

• The author draws on personal experiences of witnessing empathetic people not taking action in immoral situations.

• The author emphasizes how much better people with a sense a duty are than people with empathy.

• The author provides scientific evidence for why empathetic people are less likely to take actions than people with a sense of duty.

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The dime experiment shows that…

• money makes people more aware of their behavior towards others.

• people are more likely to be helpful when happy themselves.

• negative emotions associated with empathy can make people unkind.

• kindness is not something that can be forced.

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What is the meaning of "subverts" in Paragraph 9?

• contrasts

• reveals

• destroys

• supports

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What is the best summary of Paragraph 2 ?

• Lots of books have been written about the "empathy craze" sweeping our country including a popular brain theory about mirrors in the human brain.

• In his excellent book "The Better Angels of Our Nature" author Steven Pinker makes the case, along with many other authors of books on empathy, that brain science has uncovered mirror neurons in our heads that lead to empathy, sympathy, and moral action.

• Empathy is everywhere.

• Many authors write about the effects of empathy on society.

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What is the overall structure of Paragraph 5?

• chronological

• compare and contrast

• cause and effect

• emphasis

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What term does the author use to refer to the deeds of those who go beyond the "fragile flower" of empathy as it is used in Paragraph 7?

• (Paragraph 11) "pro-social action"

• (Paragraph 9) 'nepotism"

• (Paragraph 12) "fellow feeling"

• (Paragraph 7) "self-concern"

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Why did the author choose to include Paragraph 5?

• It demonstrates that empathy was less prevalent in society decades ago.

• It confirms that violence against others often results when individuals lack the ability to demonstrate empathy.

• It shows that the need to conform and feel part of a group desensitizes humans to the suffering of others.

• It provides an example of how someone can feel emotion about something, but will continue to do it anyway.

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Which best explains the author's tone toward society in general?

• He is disappointed in people because they are inherently selfish.

• He admires people without exception because everyone demonstrates a capacity for caring.

• He is discouraged by people who know how others feel yet do nothing to relieve their suffering.

• He recognizes the good in people and notes their desire to do the right thing.

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What evidence used by the author to support his claim is most likely to be challenged by others who disagree with him?

• (Paragraph 5) "Subjects in the famous Milgram experiments felt anguish as they appeared to administer electric shocks to other research subjects,..."

• (Paragraph 2) 'As Steven Pinker writes in his mind-altering new book, “The Better Angels of Our Nature,” we are living in the middle of an “empathy craze.”'

• (Paragraph 7) '“These studies suggest that empathy is not a major player when it comes to moral motivation."'

• (Paragraph 8) Eighty-seven percent of the people who found the dime offered to help a person who dropped some papers nearby, compared with only 4 percent who didn’t find a dime.

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