Friend is working on these logic/thinking quiz deals, and sent this one to me today:

“A man who takes his wife everywhere with him says he has to go out of town for work. The wife says, “Don’t go, I’m not safe when you are not here.” He says, “I’ll be back tomorrow, but I have to go,” and he leaves. The minute he leaves the wife goes to see her lover. After a night with her lover she starts to drive back home. On the bridge to get back is an assassin. The assassin is waiting there to kill her. When she sees him, she knows there is a ferry that can take her across for $10, but she doesn’t have it. She begs the ferryman to help her but he declines. She goes to her lover and asks for the money, but he also refuses. She risks the bridge and is assassinated.

Ranking 1-5, who is most responsible for her death?”

I said there is no ranking; the only one who killed her was the assassin. While the others committed other wrongs, ranking their fault in her death is just survivors’ guilt and silly. Friend then asks, “Well, which one was most wrong?” To which I replied, “there is no hierarchy of survivors’ guilt.”

What do you think?

(lemonadediary)

It’s pretty clear the question hinges on your interpretation of ‘responsible.’ Before answering the question, I think it’s important to think of something Wittgenstein said,

We have got on to slippery ice where there is no friction and so in a certain sense the conditions are ideal, but also, just because of that, we are unable to walk. We want to walk: so we need friction. Back to the rough ground!

You may say in an abstract way that only the assassin is responsible, but try to think about it in practical, concrete terms.