TWO FACED HUMANS – WHICH FACE TO TRUST

Humans, although being derived from a similar genetic pool and having a striking physical resemblance, yet the core of their individuality lies in the vast divergence of their internal and external experiences. Human experience,in general, is defined by a fundamental paradox wherein they are at once private beings and inherently social creatures. To navigate this contradiction, humans have evolved a multifaceted approach wherein they play different roles in society and adapt their behaviour to different contexts (e.g. being different with the boss than with the child; being different at home and workplace etc). This approach not only imparts a healthy adaptation for social survival but also serves as an important tool for maintenance of order because if every individual acts on every raw emotion or expresses every unfiltered thought, social structures would
collapse under the weight of constant conflict. Therefore, this strategy, in a social context, is an act of social altruism—a sacrifice of individual honesty for the sake of group harmony.

However, the modern era humans who are being supercharged by digital environments and social media platforms, these multifaceted images of humans are being replaced by the duplicity of human faces. This “dual faced” persona includes a psychological and behavioural dichotomy between the private self (the authentic, unvarnished identity) and the public persona (the curated mask presented to the world). Although philosophically the duality might serve as a profound metaphor for the inherent contradictions and multifaceted nature of human existence, yet objectively it exists on a spectrum — from necessary social filters to harmful manipulative behaviours. The chasm between the two faces and the gap between who we are and who we pretend to be determines the social, political and emotional consequences. While this duality helps in social cohesion and professional survival to some extent, the long term impact of this duality ultimately leads to higher psychological distress for the individual and increased instability in social and political systems. The “dual-face” phenomenon, therefore, is fundamentally a “double-edged sword” that has both significant positive and negative
consequences depending upon the intent and the gap between two faces.

The “dual face” humans have conflicting identities with split public /private personas and create significant societal tension by eroding trust, increasing emotional exhaustion and driving polarization. The subset of humans who are habitual of using dual faces, adapt their personality, honesty or demeanor to suit different situations or audiences, sometimes acting insincerely or manipulatively to serve their own interests. Such kind of humans carry hidden agendas, often act inconsistently, pretend to be sincere or friendly while harbouring negative intentions and speak maliciously behind the back. Such dual faced persons, whether in social, political or professional roles, lead to higherperceived job complexity, emotional strain and trust issues or in extreme cases, a loss of authentic identity. Such kind of people convincingly pretend to be allies but act as adversaries in private, often fuelled by envy or a desire for social advantage. They create toxic environments, foster low morale in workplaces and often leave victims feeling confused, hurt and isolated. They frequently use false flattery to charm, only to betray trust when it benefits them.

Being two faced, therefore, involves deliberate deceptiveness and double standards in contrast to the multifaceted image which involves filtering for politeness. Although the dual face, one real and another masked, is a useful tool for navigating the world, the true value lies in a face that is seen in the mirror when the world isn’t watching. Unfortunately, the subset of humans habitual of using non-aligned private and public faces are exponentially increasing and the discrepancy between these two faces is getting wider and broader. Since total
transparency is neither practical nor desirable, the goal of human development is not to eliminate the dual face but rather to achieve a state of integrity, where the public face and the private self are in alignment. Only by narrowing the gap between the public and private selves can one move from a society of performers
to a community of humans, enriched with trustworthy faces and reliable shoulders.
Dr. Pawan Suri