Trust is a three-part relation that is grounded in the truster’s assessment of the intentions of the trusted with respect to some action. Typically, the intentions of the trusted will be based in self-interest (as in the account of encapsulated interest), moral commitment, or idiosyncratic character. Other views, that trust is an attitude of ungrounded faith or belief or that it is inherently moral, are not convincing as general accounts of trust.

DEFINE: Defines trust as a three-part relational assessment grounded in the truster's evaluation of the trusted's intentions, opposing views that see trust as ungrounded faith or inherently moral.

Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, loc. 51