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Fiction

Being as Onion: A Heideggerian Parable

Mark C. Watney watches Martin Heidegger’s kitchen encounter.

Tears seeped through the onion’s flaky skin as it sat in misery before Herr Heidegger. “I just cannot seem to find myself!” the wretched root cried out.

“What is it you wish to find?” Heidegger gently asked.

“The purpose of life!” whispered the vegetable.

“And where have you been looking?”

“Well, I’ve been peeling back the layers over the years…”

“And?”

“Layer after layer…”

“I see…”

“…After layer.

…