Which concept posits that the mind and body are separate, existing as distinct substances?

Which concept posits that the mind and body are separate, existing as distinct substances?

• A. Dualism
• B. Animism
• C. Materialism
• D. Monism

Answer: (A)

Substance dualism is the view that the mind and the body are two different kinds of substance. The mind is non-physical and includes thoughts, feelings, and subjective experiences, while the body is physical and follows the laws of biology and physics. They can interact, but their fundamental natures remain distinct. This stands in contrast to materialism or physicalism, which hold that mental states are merely brain states or entirely reducible to physical processes; monism, which posits there is only one kind of substance (either entirely physical or entirely mental); and animism, which ascribes life or spirit to objects and beings rather than addressing the fundamental nature of mind and body. The description given—mind and body existing as separate substances—fits substance dualism perfectly.

Substance dualism is the view that the mind and the body are two different kinds of substance. The mind is non-physical and includes thoughts, feelings, and subjective experiences, while the body is physical and follows the laws of biology and physics. They can interact, but their fundamental natures remain distinct. This stands in contrast to materialism or physicalism, which hold that mental states are merely brain states or entirely reducible to physical processes; monism, which posits there is only one kind of substance (either entirely physical or entirely mental); and animism, which ascribes life or spirit to objects and beings rather than addressing the fundamental nature of mind and body. The description given—mind and body existing as separate substances—fits substance dualism perfectly.