The Groundless Normativity of Instrumental Rationality

Abstract

I n The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exuperyl has us imagine a monarch who, wanting above all to be obeyed, tailors his commands to the anticipated behavior of his subject.When the little prince yawns, the King commands him not to do so again.The little prince objects-pleading that he cannot help yawning-so the king commands the little prince to yawn.Frightened, the little prince is unable to yawn.The king struggles for a moment and then commands the little prince to "sometimes yawn and sometimes not."As Saint-Exupery says: For what the king fundamentally insisted upon was that his authority should be respected.He tolerated no disobedience.He was an absolute monarch.But, because he was a very good man, he made his orders reasonable (ibid., p. 37).When the king boasts that he is the absolute ruler over all the universe and that even the stars and the planets obey him, the little prince asks the king to command a sunset.To this seemingly modest request of one with such power, the king replies: "If I ordered a general to fly from one flower to another like a butterfly, or to write a tragic drama, or to change himself into a sea bird, and if the general did not carry out the order that he had received, which one of us would be in the wrong?" the king demanded."The general, or myself?" * A version of this paper was read at a colloquium at Bowling Green State University.I am grateful to the audience for helpful suggestions.I am especially grateful to the participants in the Ohio Reading Group in Ethics-in particular, Justin D'Arms, David Copp, David Sobel, and Sigriin Svavarsd6ttir-for careful reading and extremely useful comments.

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