J. Edward Hackett

J. Edward Hackett, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of English and Philosophy at Southern University and A&M College who rather than engage in metaphysical speculation in process metaphysics is off building magick systems in his world of Apeiron. Fantasy fiction is itself an exploration of concepts in extreme for him. In fantasy this exploration is limited only by the imagination in much the same way that philosopher employs the intellectual imagination to solve problems that science, common sense, religion, or art cannot solve on their own. In his debut novel, Flight of the Ravenhawk, Apeiron is a world as boundless as its origin coming from Anaximander’s fragments. Wizard nobles vie for power in the Allurian Empire. Airships shoot lightning cannons. Elven archers fly atop griffins, and a dwarven kingdom is buried deep in the mountains far from elven or human spires. At the same time, Ed’s fiction cannot help but be inspired and instantiated by concepts that come from ancient, modern, and 19th and 20th philosophical systems of thought. It’s in his blood. Ed grew up scattered across the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic states. Born in Lakewood, NJ and spending most of his life north of Pittsburgh, PA, Ed has been traveling to other worlds since he bought the Star Wars D6 RPG book by West End Games and Mage: the Ascension from White Wolf as a teenager. He grew up on Magic the Gathering, 80s fantasy movies, and many comics of the 90s amidst the rust belt of Western Pennsylvania. Although a professor, Ed still goes to imaginary worlds with his friends at the age of 43. He’s in a classic AD&D game. His philosophizing meshes with the sensitivity to imaginary worlds. Just recently, he contributed an article about environmental ethics and the animated movie Wall-E in the upcoming Disney and Philosophy. He’s edited another pop culture and philosophy volume called House of Cards and Philosophy, co-edited an academic volume on phenomenology entitled Phenomenology for the 21st Century. He also published his first solo academic book called Persons and Values in Pragmatic Phenomenology (2018). When asked if she was a philosopher once, the great Simone De Beauvoir said, “No, I’m a writer.” Upon hearing that many years ago, Ed has tried to write for many audiences and emulate her example. Ed has been married to his wife, Ashley, since July 30th 2006. They live in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, a magickal place in its own right and before that they lived in Cleveland. They have two cats: Olive and Lulu. Ed absorbs the sunlight of the bayou, practices zazen, and while writing and teaching philosophy and other courses in the humanities, he shoots landscape photography. Despite all of this, his greatest joy is teaching and writing. “Writing fiction is simply being philosophical with narratives rather than directly talking about concepts.” Don’t forget to connect with J. Edward Hackett on social media! You can find him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and on his blog, The Horizon and the Fringe. BOOKS BY THIS AUTHOR The Ravenhawk Chronicles The Flight of the Ravenhawk The Rise of the Azure Spire OTHER BOOKS BY THIS AUTHOR House of Cards and Philosophy Phenomenology for the 21st Century Persons and Values in Pragmatic Phenomenology: Explorations in Moral Metaphysics.