This concept can be applied to the actions of…

This concept can be applied to the actions of other people as well. If someone does something that you perceive as being evil, the appropriate thing to say is that you would have not done that thing. In the mind of the person that did it, he actually probably thought that he was doing the right thing. Otherwise you would not have done it.

— from Decisions & Choices (Decision/Choice/Focus/Forethought/Consequences)

In the book

Counsel informs the decision; it must never become the decision. And hold this humility about the decisions of others: when someone does a thing you find wrong, the honest response is not that they are evil but simply that you would not have done it — for in their own mind they very likely believed they were doing right. Remember, finally, that you can only ever intend an outcome and take the prudent steps toward it; you cannot command it, because between your action and your result stand a thousand things you do not control. — Decisions & Choices (Decision/Choice/Focus/Forethought/Consequences)

Related