Meanings
- uncountablehuman sciencesThe doctrine that the body and the mind are separate, distinct and causally-related substances, where the body is physical and the mind is nonphysical.
finally, substance dualism holds that the bearers of mental properties aren’t physical so they won’t be brains or bodies as currently conceived.
2014 April, “There are no good objections to substance dualism”, in Philosophy, volume 89, number 2, →DOI, page 2022 more examples
According to substance dualism, mind and body, whilst quite distinct, interact with one another. Sensory information about the state of the world is sent from brain to mind, and decisions about how to react are sent from mind to brain.
2005, Ian Ravenscroft, Philosophy of Mind: A Beginner's Guide, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 10This substance dualism is theologically significant, reminding us that, for example, (1) persons are capable of surviving bodily death and (2) the incarnation (God, who is spirit, becomes man) is possible, as the person of Jesus is not identical to his body […].
2005, Paul Copan, "How do you know you're not wrong?", Baker Books, →ISBN, page 92
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
Cite this entry
substance dualism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/substance%20dualism
“substance dualism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/substance%20dualism. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “substance dualism,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/substance%20dualism.
Source: substance dualism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.