"Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity."
It is a philosophical razor that suggests a way of eliminating unlikely explanations for human behavior. It is probably named after Robert J. Hanlon, who submitted the statement to Murphy's Law Book Two (1980).[1] Similar statements have been recorded since at least the 18th century.
The adage was a submission credited in print to Robert J. Hanlon of Scranton, Pennsylvania, in a compilation of various jokes related to Murphy's law that were published in Arthur Bloch's Murphy's Law Book Two: More Reasons Why Things Go Wrong! (1980).[1]
A similar quotation appears in Robert A. Heinlein's novella Logic of Empire (1941).[2] The character "Doc" in Heinlein's story described the "devil theory" fallacy, explaining, "You have attributed conditions to villainy that simply result from stupidity."[3]
Hanlon's razor became well known after its inclusion in the Jargon File, a glossary of computer programmer slang, since 1990.[4] Later that same year, the Jargon File editors noted lack of knowledge about the term's derivation and the existence of a similar epigram by William James, although this was possibly intended as a reference to William James Laidlay.[5][6] In 1996, the Jargon File entry on Hanlon's Razor noted the existence of the phrase in Heinlein's novella, with speculation that Hanlon's Razor might be a corruption of "Heinlein's Razor".[2] The link to Murphy's law was described in a pair of 2001 blog entries by Quentin Stafford-Fraser, citing emails from Joseph E. Bigler.[7][8] Subsequently, in 2002, the Jargon File entry noted the same.[9] Current Jargon File refers to it as a "Murphyism".[10]
Earlier attributions to the idea go back to at least the 18th century.[12]Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote in the first entry of his influential epistolary novelThe Sorrows of Young Werther (1774, first English translation 1779): "[...] Mißverständnisse und Trägheit machen vielleicht mehr Irrungen in der Welt als List und Bosheit. Wenigstens sind die beiden letzteren gewiß seltener." ('[...] misunderstandings and lethargy perhaps produce more wrong in the world than deceit and malice do. At any rate, the latter two are certainly rarer.') [13] Another variation appears in The Wheels of Chance (1896) by H.G. Wells:
There is very little deliberate wickedness in the world. The stupidity of our selfishness gives much the same results indeed, but in the ethical laboratory it shows a different nature.[14]
Douglas W. Hubbard quoted Hanlon's razor and added "a clumsier but more accurate corollary ...: 'Never attribute to malice or stupidity that which can be explained by moderately rational individuals following incentives in a complex system.'"[16]
^ abEric S. Raymond, ed. (24 July 1996). "The Jargon File, Version 4.0.0". jargon-file.org. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
^Robert Heinlein (1 March 1941). "Logic of Empire". Astounding Science-Fiction. Vol. 27, no. 1. p. 39. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
^Guy L. Steele; Eric S. Raymond, eds. (12 June 1990). "The Jargon File, Version 2.1.1 (Draft)". jargon-file.org. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
^Quote Investigator (30 December 2016). "Never Attribute to Malice That Which Is Adequately Explained by Stupidity". quoteinvestigator.com. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
^Eric S. Raymond; Guy L. Steele, eds. (15 December 1990). "The Jargon File, Version 2.2.1". jargon-file.org. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
^Stafford-Fraser, Quentin (26 November 2001). "[untitled]". Retrieved 19 July 2017.
^Stafford-Fraser, Quentin (4 December 2001). "The origins of Hanlon's Razor". Retrieved 19 July 2017.
^Eric S. Raymond, ed. (3 March 2002). "The Jargon File, Version 4.3.2". jargon-file.org. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
^Livraghi, Giancarlo (2004). Il potere della stupidità. Pescara, Italy: Monti & Ambrosini SRL. p. 1. ISBN9788889479131.
^ abSelin, Shannon (14 July 2014). "Napoleon Misquoted - Ten Famous Things Bonaparte Never Actually Said". MilitaryHistoryNow.com. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
^Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1774). Die Leiden des jungen Werthers or The Sufferings of Young Werther. Translated by Bayard Quincy Morgan. p. 14.
hanlon, razor, adage, rule, thumb, that, states, never, attribute, malice, that, which, adequately, explained, stupidity, philosophical, razor, that, suggests, eliminating, unlikely, explanations, human, behavior, probably, named, after, robert, hanlon, submit. Hanlon s razor is an adage or rule of thumb that states 1 Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity It is a philosophical razor that suggests a way of eliminating unlikely explanations for human behavior It is probably named after Robert J Hanlon who submitted the statement to Murphy s Law Book Two 1980 1 Similar statements have been recorded since at least the 18th century Contents 1 Origin 2 Other variations of the idea 3 See also 4 References 5 LiteratureOrigin editThe adage was a submission credited in print to Robert J Hanlon of Scranton Pennsylvania in a compilation of various jokes related to Murphy s law that were published in Arthur Bloch s Murphy s Law Book Two More Reasons Why Things Go Wrong 1980 1 A similar quotation appears in Robert A Heinlein s novella Logic of Empire 1941 2 The character Doc in Heinlein s story described the devil theory fallacy explaining You have attributed conditions to villainy that simply result from stupidity 3 Hanlon s razor became well known after its inclusion in the Jargon File a glossary of computer programmer slang since 1990 4 Later that same year the Jargon File editors noted lack of knowledge about the term s derivation and the existence of a similar epigram by William James although this was possibly intended as a reference to William James Laidlay 5 6 In 1996 the Jargon File entry on Hanlon s Razor noted the existence of the phrase in Heinlein s novella with speculation that Hanlon s Razor might be a corruption of Heinlein s Razor 2 The link to Murphy s law was described in a pair of 2001 blog entries by Quentin Stafford Fraser citing emails from Joseph E Bigler 7 8 Subsequently in 2002 the Jargon File entry noted the same 9 Current Jargon File refers to it as a Murphyism 10 The name was inspired by Occam s razor 11 Other variations of the idea editEarlier attributions to the idea go back to at least the 18th century 12 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote in the first entry of his influential epistolary novel The Sorrows of Young Werther 1774 first English translation 1779 Missverstandnisse und Tragheit machen vielleicht mehr Irrungen in der Welt als List und Bosheit Wenigstens sind die beiden letzteren gewiss seltener misunderstandings and lethargy perhaps produce more wrong in the world than deceit and malice do At any rate the latter two are certainly rarer 13 Another variation appears in The Wheels of Chance 1896 by H G Wells There is very little deliberate wickedness in the world The stupidity of our selfishness gives much the same results indeed but in the ethical laboratory it shows a different nature 14 A similar quote is also misattributed to Napoleon 12 Andrew Roberts in his biography of Winston Churchill quotes from Churchill s correspondence with King George VI in February 1943 regarding disagreements with Charles De Gaulle His insolence may be founded on stupidity rather than malice 15 771 Douglas W Hubbard quoted Hanlon s razor and added a clumsier but more accurate corollary Never attribute to malice or stupidity that which can be explained by moderately rational individuals following incentives in a complex system 16 See also editMike Alder Newton s flaming laser sword Apophenia Argument from incredulity Clarke s three laws Dunning Kruger effect Finagle s law Good faith Hitchens s razor Idiot proof Law of triviality Peter principle Presumption of innocence Principle of charity Sturgeon s lawReferences editListen to this article 3 minutes source source nbsp This audio file was created from a revision of this article dated 3 October 2019 2019 10 03 and does not reflect subsequent edits Audio help More spoken articles nbsp Wikiquote has quotations related to Robert J Hanlon a b c Arthur Bloch 1980 Murphy s Law Book Two More Reasons Why Things Go Wrong Price Stern Sloan p 52 ISBN 9780417064505 a b Eric S Raymond ed 24 July 1996 The Jargon File Version 4 0 0 jargon file org Retrieved 19 July 2017 Robert Heinlein 1 March 1941 Logic of Empire Astounding Science Fiction Vol 27 no 1 p 39 Retrieved 8 August 2018 Guy L Steele Eric S Raymond eds 12 June 1990 The Jargon File Version 2 1 1 Draft jargon file org Retrieved 19 July 2017 Quote Investigator 30 December 2016 Never Attribute to Malice That Which Is Adequately Explained by Stupidity quoteinvestigator com Retrieved 24 December 2022 Eric S Raymond Guy L Steele eds 15 December 1990 The Jargon File Version 2 2 1 jargon file org Retrieved 19 July 2017 Stafford Fraser Quentin 26 November 2001 untitled Retrieved 19 July 2017 Stafford Fraser Quentin 4 December 2001 The origins of Hanlon s Razor Retrieved 19 July 2017 Eric S Raymond ed 3 March 2002 The Jargon File Version 4 3 2 jargon file org Retrieved 19 July 2017 Hanlon s Razor Jargon File Eric S Raymond 3 March 2002 Retrieved 19 July 2017 Livraghi Giancarlo 2004 Il potere della stupidita Pescara Italy Monti amp Ambrosini SRL p 1 ISBN 9788889479131 a b Selin Shannon 14 July 2014 Napoleon Misquoted Ten Famous Things Bonaparte Never Actually Said MilitaryHistoryNow com Retrieved 12 April 2019 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1774 Die Leiden des jungen Werthers or The Sufferings of Young Werther Translated by Bayard Quincy Morgan p 14 Wells H G 1896 The Wheels of Chance Roberts Andrew 2019 Churchill Walking with Destiny New York Penguin Books ISBN 9781101981009 Hubbard 2020 pp 81 82 Literature editDouglas W Hubbard 2020 The Failure of Risk Management Why it s broken and how to fix it 2nd ed Wiley ISBN 978 1 119 52203 4 LCCN 2019051494 Wikidata Q123514276 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hanlon 27s razor amp oldid 1186405748, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
