Ajencis is the father of syllogistic logic and algebra, held by many to be the greatest of all philosophers. Born in the Kyranean capital of Mehtsonc, he is reputed to have never once left his city, even during the horrific plagues of 1991, when his advanced age made his death a near certainty. (According to various sources, Ajencis bathed on a daily basis and refused to drink water drawn from city wells, claiming that these practices, combined with a distaste for drunkenness and a moderate diet, were the keys to his health.)
Many commentators, both antique and contemporary, complain that there are as many Ajencises as there are readers of Ajencis. Though this is certainly true of his more speculative works (such as Theophysics or The First Analytic of Men), his work does possess a discernible and consistent sceptical core, primarily exemplified in The Third Analytic of Men, which also happens to be his most cynical work. For Ajencis, Men by and large “make their weaknesses, not reason or the world, the primary measure of what they hold true.” In fact, he observed that most individuals possess no criteria whatsoever for their beliefs.
As a so-called critical philosopher, one might have supposed he would eventually share the fate of other critical philosophers, such as Porsa (the famed “Philosopher-Whore” of Trysë) or Kumhurat. Only his reputation and the structure of Kyranean society saved him from the vicissitudes of the mob. As a child, he was allegedly such a prodigy that the High King himself took notice of him, granting him what was called Protection at the unprecedented age of eight. Protection was an ancient and hallowed Kyranean institution; the “Protected” were those who could say anything without fear of reprisal, even to the High King. Ajencis continued speaking until he suffered a stroke and died at the venerable age of 103.[1]
Works
- The Commerce of Souls
- The Epistemologies
- The First Analytic of Men
- The Fourth Analytic of Men
- The Fourth Dialogue of the Movements of the Planets as They Pertain to Astrology
- Meta-Analytics
- The Syllogistics
- Theophysics
- The Third Analytic of Men
References
- ↑ Encyclopedic Glossary, ‘Ajencis’