The Moral Logic of Survivors Guilt

According to “The Moral Logic of Survivor Guilt,” which of the following is the best definition of survivor guilt?

• feeling responsible for a crime one committed when one had no choice

• feeling that others blame one for a crime committed by a friend if one could have stopped him or her

• feeling bad about living through a disaster or war when others did not

• feeling general regret for a comrade’s death, knowing one has done nothing wrong

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In “The Moral Logic of Survivor Guilt,” which two kinds of guilt does the author contrast?

• rational and objective guilt

• subjective and irrational guilt

• subjective and objective guilt

• rational and survivor guilt

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According to the author of “The Moral Logic of Survivor Guilt,” which idea best helps explain survivor guilt?

• Acting morally means doing good, not just avoiding wrong.

• Moral character is expressed in feelings, not just actions.

• It is possible to make up for a crime, healing the past.

• It is wrong to feel regret for the bad outcome of an accident.

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In “The Moral Logic of Survivor Guilt,” which of the following may be an important cause of survivor guilt?

• soldiers’ strong feelings of attachment to each other

• soldiers’ strong feelings of regret for accidents

• soldiers’ efforts to contact the family of a comrade

• soldiers’ duties to self, including self-forgiveness

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Which of the following most clearly illustrates the meaning of burden?

• Tim carried a great weight of sorrow.

• Kimbra comforted the soldier’s mother.

• Alexa knew a good deal about ethics.

• Malik knew how to play a sad song.

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Which of the following is the best definition of culpability?

• innocence; freedom from guilt

• obligation; something that is carried with difficulty

• blameworthiness; guilt or blame that is deserved

• understanding; ability to identify with the feelings or thoughts of others

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If a captain’s conscience bothers her after a sailor’s death, what is she most clearly feeling? Base your choice on the meaning of conscience.

• fear

• grief

• guilt

• anger

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Though Aristotle doesn’t himself talk about guilt, it is the emotion that best expresses that conflict—the desire or obligation to help frustrated by the inability, through no fault of one’s own, to do so. To not feel the guilt is to be numb to those pulls.

Which idea about survivor guilt does Sherman most clearly express in this passage?

• Survivor guilt expresses a deep frustration about ethics.

• Survivor guilt occurs when we cannot fulfill the desire to do good.

• Survivor guilt must be experienced by all truly ethical people.

• Survivor guilt pulls us away from conflicts between obligations.

Answer explanation

Support for this can be found in the text: "the inability, through no fault of one’s own, to do so"

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What Prior feels are feelings of guilt, and not simply regret that things didn’t work out differently. He feels the awful weight of self-indictment, the empathy with the victim and survivors, and the need to make moral repair. If he didn’t feel that, we would probably think less of him as a commander.

What point about survivor guilt does this passage support?

• It is more reasonable to feel regret, rather than guilt, about events one does not control.

• Guilt demonstrates the ethical quality of leadership in a way that regret cannot.

• Feelings of guilt can be awful and make being a commander difficult.

• The need to make moral repair is the same as a feeling of regret.

Answer explanation

This answer is best supported from the text: "If he didn’t feel that, we would probably think less of him as a commander."

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According to “The Moral Logic of Survivor Guilt,” which of the following is a positive aspect of guilt?

• Subjective guilt lets people see even chaotic events in moral terms.

• Subjective guilt is better than agent-regret, or sorrow about an accident.

• Subjective guilt is the best way of coping with “imperfect duties.”

• Subjective guilt can heal if one talks with others who also feel it.

Answer explanation

This answer is best supported through this quote from the text: "[We] might say guilt, subjective guilt, has a redemptive side. It is a way that soldiers impose moral order on the chaos and awful randomness of war’s violence."

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