diff --git a/src/flake8/options/config.py b/src/flake8/options/config.py
index 9f3235d..5d80c25 100644
--- a/src/flake8/options/config.py
+++ b/src/flake8/options/config.py
@@ -46,9 +46,7 @@ class ConfigFileFinder(object):
 
         self.local_directory = os.path.abspath(os.curdir)
 
-        if not args:
-            args = ["."]
-        self.parent = self.tail = os.path.abspath(os.path.commonprefix(args))
+        self.parent = self.tail = os.getcwd()
 
         # caches to avoid double-reading config files
         self._local_configs = None