From Taylor Swift to Donald Trump, we take it for granted that the image presented to the world hides a true self underneath. But it is unknown if there is such a thing as a true self at all. ""The world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players”, was Shakespeare's famous insight. And many argue his renowned phrase is more than a metaphor. We are constantly changing, with an array of masks and identities, who we choose to be and who we are.
Should we see the idea of a true self as an illusion and accept that there is only performance? Are we more like works of fiction than real-life people? Or is giving up on the true self a profound challenge to beliefs we hold dear, such as sincerity, responsibility, truth and lies?