Hanlon's Razor
Category
Adage, Anecdote, Metaphor
Similar
Hostile Attribution BiasDefinition
The aphorism which reminds us to never attribute to malice something that can simply be explained by incompetence.Origin
The phrase was coined by Robert Hanlon in the 1980s, but has been similarly expressed by Goethe and Napoleon in the 18th century — "Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence." (source)