Full Idea
Concerning charity, the Principle of Coherence seeks logical consistency in the thought of the speaker, and the Principle of Correspondence seeks a similar response to features of the world to that of an interpreter. The speaker has logic and true belief.
Gist of Idea
The principle of charity attributes largely consistent logic and largely true beliefs to speakers
Source
Donald Davidson (Three Varieties of Knowledge [1991], p.211)
Book Reference
Davidson,Donald: 'Subjective, Intersubjective, Objective' [OUP 2001], p.211
A Reaction
Davidson adds a Kantian commitment to pure and universal reason to the very sceptical framework created by Quine. I agree with Davidson, but it seems more like faith than like an argument or an empirical observation.
Related Idea
Idea 3495 Shared Background makes translation possible, though variation makes it hard [Searle]