Luigi Cornaro Character Analysis

In “The Four Great Errors,” Nietzsche identifies and examines what he considers to be the four main errors that philosophy has made throughout history. In this passage, Nietzsche discusses the first of these errors: the error “of mistaking the consequence for the cause,” or the error of confusing cause for effect, and vice versa. For Nietzsche, this error is the foundation of all commonly accepted moral codes. It’s also the most serious error. The way this error works is that the philosopher (or moralist or theologian) identifies a belief they want to uphold or condone. Then they manufacture a logical framework to support that belief.

Nietzsche cites a book by Luigi Cornaro, an Italian nobleman who, in his book Discorsi sulla vita sobria, or “Discourses On the Temperate Life” (1588), argued that a restrictive diet was the key to a long life. In reality, Cornaro’s slow metabolism necessitated a meager diet and ensured (or at least supported) his long life. Put simply, he was going to live a long time anyway, and other people without a similarly slow metabolism aren’t going to experience the same long life that he did just by copying his diet. Philosophers and moralists fall victim to the same error when they make value judgments about which behaviors are virtuous and which are not. For instance, the Church might claim that behaving virtuously will make a person happy and fulfilled. But this formula ignores the possibility that happy and fulfilled people are in a better position—and therefore more likely—to behave virtuously than people whose lives are in ruins.