“Sincerity” is a tricky ideal, since, as Jean-Paul Sartre showed, being
intent on sincerity focuses attention on the role one is playing and
detracts from the attention to the object one is claiming to be sincere
about. Therefore sincerity is a dangerous model for cultural authority
because it honors the appearance of virtue rather than demanding
that virtue prove itself by actually getting down to work that engages
the interests of other people.

Charles Altieri