phantasmagorical

“The fundamental presupposition of the fundamentalism of everyday life, then, is that the self in its truth is naked, pure, unadorned. Only insofar as the self degenerates - over time, through distraction, stress, lack of attention - does it need the help of some cosmetic alteration to return to its original state. But what this fundamentalist illusion hides is the fact that there is no pure, naked self but always a self-in-alteration, a self constructing itself out of countless layers of adornment, display, acting, both for itself and for the gaze and expectations of others.” William Egginton, In Defense of Religious Moderation, p 26