What is the word for the feeling of "remorse," but without guilt? Such as, sadness for a poor outcome, but with the realization that the actions taken were necessary or the best with the given amount of information.
I feel that this is different from remorse because remorse implies that there is a desire for the actions not to have been taken or to have been taken differently. In this scenario, there is no such desire, though there is a desire for the possibility of a better outcome.
There may also be a derivative term in the case that there was good or positive intentions, or if the results of the actions were known (therefore intended) but still necessary.
Best Answer
The closest that may come to the idea of a feeling of sadness without guilt, ("Well, I don't like it, it's bad, but it could not be helped") would be
regret [WP]