I remember a number of years ago going to lunch with a friend. He helping me work through some things in my marriage. He responded to my three-minutes of explanation with, ‘What I hear you talking about is all about her bad motives. When do you offer her the benefit of the doubt?’ And I realized that he was right. I tended towards assuming the worst about her motives rather than giving her the benefit of the doubt. This woman I pledged to love, I was failing to believe in her best intentions. This is where I started to first understand what Hanlon’s Razor was all about.

I later learned about Hanlon’s Razor. That the principle fit into this mindset of giving the benefit of the doubt. But it can sometimes fall short. So, I thought I would share how Hanlon’s Razor actually succeeds and where it fails. And don’t worry, I explain what Hanlon’s Razor is below…

Defining Hanlon’s Razor

Hanlon’s Razor says that you should never attribute to malice what can be adequately explained by incompetence, neglect, or ignorance. It’s a companion to Occam’s Razor (the explanation requiring the fewest assumptions is usually the best). But focuses more on people’s motivations rather than trying to determine which answer amongst many is the more likely answer. Hanlon’s Razor allows someone who looks at the problems they face with others as being something benign. This really solves a problem for those who tend towards assuming malicious intent all the time.

Where It Succeeds

It succeeds in urging us to not assume the worst about people. Which I believe to be a major win for families, teams, and even simply neighbors. In our tribal culture we default to assuming the worst about anyone who creates negative repercussions in our lives. But it also exemplifies a piece of 1 Corinthians 13.

1 Corinthians 13:7 says:

 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

1 Corinthians 13 is Paul’s explanation of what love really looks like in the context of how the church should operate. He’s explaining to the Corinthian church what a healthy functioning church looks like. And he explains what love looks like in that context. In that, there is room to understand these passages as applying to individual relationships that aren’t necessarily within the church. Love’s character and nature should not change based on the character of the individual after all. When Paul says “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things…” he speaks to the heart of Hanlon’s Razor. Love gives the benefit of the doubt and “rejoices with the truth” (v.6). The truth then can sometimes be where Hanlon’s Razor fails.

Where It Fails

Hanlon’s Razor automatically assumes that the interpretation of events as negative is accurate. The problem with this is that when we are viewing things from a flawed perspective, what we may view as negative may actually be positive. For instance, a mother may discipline her child who just ate a cookie before supper. She disciplines the child knowing that cookies are not nutritious meals and his actions defied her previous teaching. The child only views this discipline as negative. If they were to apply Hanlon’s Razor, they may try to attribute the mother’s actions to incompetence, neglect, or ignorance. Never considering that the painful thing was done in love. When in reality, the mother’s actions were a loving action done for the child’s own good. It only provides one axis of consideration, malice vs incompetence, neglect, or ignorance. It doesn’t provide for the axis of “a negative thing happened for my own good”.

Hanlon’s Razor assumes that our own perspective is reality and not an interpretation that may or may not need correcting. It fails to take into account that the understanding of all the facts may be flawed. It fails in that while an event can be explained by incompetence, neglect, or ignorance, it isn’t true that this is always the best explanation. Thus, we must default to Hanlon’s Razor until it is clear that the motivation of the other party is malicious.

Considering The Use of Hanlon’s Razor

If we are to use this principle, it must come with some disclaimers. As on its own, we fail to properly apply it. Our own understanding of the situation may be flawed and that it might actually be a positive situation. God works all things to the good of those who love him. Even in a negative situation, God works good through it. But in those circumstances where there is a negative thing happening, Hanlon’s Razor is a great default. We just have to make sure that we recognize that some motivations are in fact malicious.

I hope to continue with posts on principles of life that help improve the way we think and the way we behave. But this one is a clear practical application that we need in today’s world. So, I’ll challenge you to think about who in your life you’ve had a lot of struggles with. Examine your opinion and attitude towards that person’s actions. What is your default understanding of their behavior assuming? Is there any clear proof that the person’s intentions are malicious? If there is no clear proof that it is malicious, have your own actions been a poor reaction? Is an apology is in order?

A Final Thought

Hanlon’s Razor points to the reality that while we all fall short, love calls us to believe in the best of others until the truth of malicious intent is clearly seen. And even then, “love covers over a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8). How do we believe the best and even endure, at times, the maliciousness of others? By being filled with the love given to us by a God who seeks the good in us and pursues us despite the maliciousness we have in our own hearts towards his rule and reign. He sets the example, fills us with the motivation, and invites us into the same behavior that he himself is involved in. Let’s join him in this!