By the 17th century, Hypocrisy had become the subject of a discussion that is still unparalleled today. There was already a modern stage theater that could present deception, self-deception, and the ability to see through deception to an audience that was left to apply what was presented in the medium of fiction to itself. This was bound to bring down the old ethics, the doctrine of natural, class-based perfection. But there was also the old rhetoric, which was now being plowed anew. And there were the religious radicalizations of Puritanism, which sought to dissolve the old clerical trappings, the formulas and rituals, in order to leave the sincerity of faith entirely to individual spontaneity; only to run into the problem that the communicated spontaneity is no longer sincere, but must be hypocritical. Since then, communication, whether it wants to or not, has driven the tandem of expressive individuality and hypocrisy, and the individual, whether he wants to or not, has become the point of accountability for the manipulation of appearances demanded in social intercourse, i.e. also by religion and morality.
=> Sincerity