Most Respectful Interpretation

The principle of charity—which requires interpreting others' statements in their most rational, strongest form—was formally named by philosopher Neil L. Wilson in his 1958–59 work Substances without Substrata. The concept was later developed by W.V.O. Quine (1960), David Lewis (1974), and most influentially by Donald Davidson in the 1980s and 1990s. Davidson argued that charitable interpretation is essential to achieving shared understanding of speakers' beliefs and intentions, making it foundational to communication itself.