Social norms and rationality

Abstract

The observance of a norm entails constraining the will more than it entails exercising rationality. Furthermore, the intentional (rational) creation of norms seems to cover only a subset of the complete set of rules that order social behavior; most of these norms emerge from non-intentional processes. Therefore, rationality could come up against norms that are foreign to it; conversely, most norms are not rational. The present paper seeks to elucidate the link between an objective existence of norms and an effective exercise of rationality.