When a cause is unclear, ask who benefits; motive narrows the field of explanation.
Cicero used it as a forensic principle. It narrows a field of explanation and proves nothing on its own; benefit is evidence of motive, not of agency.
In practice
- A department reorganisation that leaves one director with three more teams is not proof of anything, and it is the first question to ask.
- A sudden change in a supplier's recommended specification is worth checking against who supplies the newly recommended part.
- Standing
- A heuristic, not a proof; benefit is evidence of motive and not of agency.
- Further reading
- Wikipedia
- Subject
- Decision-making & Reasoning
- Essay
- Razors, rules and the tools of careful thought