--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Never attribute to malice or other…" description: "\"Never attribute to malice or other deliberate decision what can be explained by human frailty, imperfection, or ignorance.\" — Harold S. Kushner" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56f/harold-s-kushner-4877_attributes_never-attribute-to-malice-or-other-delib_2770733.png" --- # Never attribute to malice or other deliberate decision… ![“Never attribute to malice or other deliberate decision what can be explained by human frailty, imperfection, or ignorance.” quote by Harold S. Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56f/harold-s-kushner-4877_attributes_never-attribute-to-malice-or-other-delib_2770733.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56f/harold-s-kushner-4877_attributes_never-attribute-to-malice-or-other-delib_2770733.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56f/harold-s-kushner-4877_attributes_never-attribute-to-malice-or-other-delib_2770733.png) > “Never attribute to malice or other deliberate decision what can be explained by human frailty, imperfection, or ignorance.” [Harold S. Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-s-kushner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Encourages attributing negative actions to human error rather than malice, promoting empathy and reducing conflict. **In simple terms:** Assume error, not evil. Key Takeaway Practice compassionate interpretation. Themes empathy conflict human frailty Mood thoughtful calm Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - workplace disputes - personal relationships Key Concepts psychology of attribution ethical behavior Questions to Reflect On - When is suspicion warranted? - How do you verify intent? A Different Perspective Sometimes intent is malicious despite error. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conflict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conflict/) [Decision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision/) [Deliberate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deliberate/) [Frailty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frailty/) [Healing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/healing/) [Human frailties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-frailties/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) [Imperfection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imperfection/) [Malice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/malice/) ## Related quotes > [Fishing is a constant reminder of the democracy of life, of humility, and of human frailty. The forces of nature discriminate for no man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-hoover/fishing-is-a-constant-reminder-of-the-democracy-of-life-of-humility/) [Herbert Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-hoover/) > [It is a blessed thing to know that no power on earth, no temptation, no human frailty can dissolve what God holds together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/it-is-a-blessed-thing-to-know-that-no-power-on-earth-no-temptation-no/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [You'll never be a wonderful woman or even a wonderful human being until you learn to have some regard for human frailty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bing-crosby/you-ll-never-be-a-wonderful-woman-or-even-a-wonderful-human-being/) [Bing Crosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bing-crosby/) > [Those who hope, by retiring from the world, to earn a holiday from human frailty, in themselves and others, are usually disappointed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/those-who-hope-by-retiring-from-the-world-to-earn-a-holiday-from/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [The solution to our human frailty is not to try harder, but to turn Godward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dillon-burroughs/the-solution-to-our-human-frailty-is-not-to-try-harder-but-to-turn/) [Dillon Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dillon-burroughs/) > [We have seen that in this country in the last few years, particularly on Wall Street, with the rise of the old human frailty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-r-raymond/we-have-seen-that-in-this-country-in-the-last-few-years-particularly/) [Lee R. Raymond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-r-raymond/) > [We’d hoped for love of a different kind, love that knew and forgave our human frailty but did not miniaturize our grander ideas of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/we-d-hoped-for-love-of-a-different-kind-love-that-knew-and-forgave/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [I don't think I've ever been face to face with pure evil, so I don't think I've ever seen it with my own eyes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/i-don-t-think-i-ve-ever-been-face-to-face-with-pure-evil-so-i-don-t/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [Fill the seats of justice with good men, not so absolute in goodness as to forget what human frailty is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-noon-talfourd/fill-the-seats-of-justice-with-good-men-not-so-absolute-in-goodness/) [Thomas Noon Talfourd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-noon-talfourd/) > [The longer I live the more conscious I am of human frailty, and of the constant, overwhelming need we all have of God’s grace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-prentiss/the-longer-i-live-the-more-conscious-i-am-of-human-frailty-and-of-the/) [Elizabeth Prentiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-prentiss/) > [You do not have to ladle on the impasto to make a point about human frailty or ambitions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/you-do-not-have-to-ladle-on-the-impasto-to-make-a-point-about-human/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [The bow cannot always stand bent, nor can human frailty subsist without some lawful recreation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/the-bow-cannot-always-stand-bent-nor-can-human-frailty-subsist/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [“a helplessly devoted student of human frailty”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-r-pearson/a-helplessly-devoted-student-of-human-frailty/) [T.R. Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-r-pearson/) > [It is an all-too-human frailty to suppose that a favorable wind will blow forever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-bode/it-is-an-all-too-human-frailty-to-suppose-that-a-favorable-wind-will/) Rick Bode > [I cannot imagine a God who rewards and punishes the objects of his creation and is but a reflection of human frailty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/i-cannot-imagine-a-god-who-rewards-and-punishes-the-objects-of-his-2/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) ## More by Harold S. Kushner > [When a mentally retarded child is born, the religious question we often ask is, "Why does God let this happen?" The better question to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-s-kushner/when-a-mentally-retarded-child-is-born-the-religious-question-we/) [Harold S. Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-s-kushner/) > [Seek something outside your nine-to-five job as an additional source of fulfillment and as a way to feel the joy of helping others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-s-kushner/seek-something-outside-your-nine-to-five-job-as-an-additional-source/) [Harold S. Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-s-kushner/) > [But at the end, if we are brave enough to love, if we are strong enough to forgive, if we are generous enough to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-s-kushner/but-at-the-end-if-we-are-brave-enough-to-love-if-we-are-strong-enough/) [Harold S. Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-s-kushner/) > [Life is like the baseball season, where even the best team loses at least a third of its games, and even the worst team…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-s-kushner/life-is-like-the-baseball-season-where-even-the-best-team-loses-at/) [Harold S. Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-s-kushner/) > [The circumstances of your life have uniquely qualified you to make a contribution. And if you don't make that contribution, nobody else can make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-s-kushner/the-circumstances-of-your-life-have-uniquely-qualified-you-to-make-a/) [Harold S. Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-s-kushner/) > [None of us has the power to make someone else love us. But we all have the power to give away love, to love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-s-kushner/none-of-us-has-the-power-to-make-someone-else-love-us-but-we-all-have/) [Harold S. Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-s-kushner/) > [We teach children how to measure and how to weigh. We fail to teach them how to revere, how to sense wonder and awe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-s-kushner/we-teach-children-how-to-measure-and-how-to-weigh-we-fail-to-teach/) [Harold S. Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-s-kushner/) > [God, who neither causes nor prevents tragedies, helps by inspiring people to help.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-s-kushner/god-who-neither-causes-nor-prevents-tragedies-helps-by-inspiring/) [Harold S. Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-s-kushner/) > [There seems to be something in the human soul that causes us to think less of ourselves every time we do something wrong... And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-s-kushner/there-seems-to-be-something-in-the-human-soul-that-causes-us-to-think/) [Harold S. Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-s-kushner/) > [There is a Jewish notion that holiness is found with other people. To understand what life really is, one has to share it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-s-kushner/there-is-a-jewish-notion-that-holiness-is-found-with-other-people-to/) [Harold S. Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-s-kushner/) > [The path to God is rarely a steady climb upward. We climb, we fall back, and we climb higher again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-s-kushner/the-path-to-god-is-rarely-a-steady-climb-upward-we-climb-we-fall-back/) [Harold S. Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-s-kushner/) > [You don't have to be religious to have a soul; everybody has one. You don't have to be religious to perfect your soul; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-s-kushner/you-don-t-have-to-be-religious-to-have-a-soul-everybody-has-one-you/) [Harold S. Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-s-kushner/) > [When your life is filled with the desire to see the holiness in everyday life, something magical happens: Ordinary life becomes extraordinary, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-s-kushner/when-your-life-is-filled-with-the-desire-to-see-the-holiness-in/) [Harold S. Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-s-kushner/) > [When I talk to people who feel this emptiness and lack of fulfillment, I recommend they find a source of balance in their lives.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-s-kushner/when-i-talk-to-people-who-feel-this-emptiness-and-lack-of-fulfillment/) [Harold S. Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-s-kushner/) > [Forgiveness is a favor we do for ourselves, not a favor we do to the other party.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-s-kushner/forgiveness-is-a-favor-we-do-for-ourselves-not-a-favor-we-do-to-the/) [Harold S. Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-s-kushner/) [Explore all 105 Harold S. Kushner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-s-kushner/) ## More Attributes quotes > [Lutherans, whose arguments and mistakes will not be difficult to contest or discover, do not want to attribute any value to works, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-servetus/lutherans-whose-arguments-and-mistakes-will-not-be-difficult-to/) [Michael Servetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-servetus/) > [If, for instance, they have heard something from the postman, they attribute it to a semi-official statement; if they have fallen into conversation with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/if-for-instance-they-have-heard-something-from-the-postman-they/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-love-for-all-living-creatures-is-the-most-noble-attribute-of-man/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [I think the greatest imagination we can exercise is one that imagines how someone else feels. Because you know how you feel, but so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-gelbart/i-think-the-greatest-imagination-we-can-exercise-is-one-that-imagines/) [Larry Gelbart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-gelbart/) > [A lover asked his beloved, Do you love yourself more than you love me? Beloved replied, I have died to myself and I live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-lover-asked-his-beloved-do-you-love-yourself-more-than-you-love-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One of the greatest attributes of jazz, I think, is that it is that open.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbie-hancock/one-of-the-greatest-attributes-of-jazz-i-think-is-that-it-is-that-open/) [Herbie Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbie-hancock/) > [God is compassionate and just, loving and holy, wrathful and forgiving. WE can't sideline His more difficult attributes to make room for the palatable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/god-is-compassionate-and-just-loving-and-holy-wrathful-and-forgiving/) [Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) > [I'm Irish and always will be, but America has taught me so much. Maybe it's here in the U.S. that we find a healing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fionnula-flanagan/i-m-irish-and-always-will-be-but-america-has-taught-me-so-much-maybe/) [Fionnula Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fionnula-flanagan/) > [“It is this spirit of godliness that will bring forth the attributes, the principles and the life style of godliness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/it-is-this-spirit-of-godliness-that-will-bring-forth-the-attributes/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [My Calvinism persuades me that we are open to God, in the sense that we are not delimited, not organisms with fixed attributes in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/my-calvinism-persuades-me-that-we-are-open-to-god-in-the-sense-that/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [A pivotal spiritual attribute is that of self-mastery-th e strength to place reason over appetite. 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Uchtdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-f-uchtdorf/) > [If I have any attribute that serves me well, it's I don't have a long-range plan in life. I have no idea. I just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wilbon/if-i-have-any-attribute-that-serves-me-well-it-s-i-don-t-have-a-long/) [Michael Wilbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wilbon/) Browse all 852 Attributes quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Never attribute to malice or other deliberate decision what can be explained by human frailty, imperfection, or ignorance.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Harold S. 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