identity
whereas actors are able to switch between characters and themselves (as they celebrate after a successful premiere), we are stuck with the part we have created and continue to forge for ourselves till the end. yet there is nothing special, unique or fated about the persona we have acquired. had we be born from the same parents in another epoch or another country, we would have fashioned for ourselves a different identity based on the local mores. although the genetic component would remain the same it would be applied to a dissimilar social and cultural landscape. as a result, our beliefs, worldview, and expectations would be radically unlike what they are now. in other words, our “self” is made of putty: it could have been equally at ease in a thousand other roles.