dualism

dualism
   Dualism is the doctrine that, in a certain respect, there are two things or two sorts of thing. The most common use of the word now among Christian philosophers is to refer to the doctrine (properly 'substance dualism') that the human person is made up of two sorts of parts: physical (the body) and non-physical (the soul/mind); 'substance dualism' is also used to refer to the subtly different doctrine that a human person is a soul/mind using a body. A weaker version of this thesis is property dualism: the view that a person is a substance of but one kind (physical), but having both physical and non-physical properties. 'Substance dualism' is also used more generally to refer to the doctrine that substances come in two sorts in the world: mental substances and physical substances. This version of dualism allows for God (and perhaps angels and demons) to be the only mental/spiritual substances. An older usage of 'dualism' is for the idea that there are two principles, one good and one evil, fighting for the control of the universe. Dualism of this sort is reflected in Manichaeism, Zoroastrianism and Star Wars.
   Further reading: Descartes 1984-91; Robinson 1993; Swinburne 1997

Christian Philosophy . . 2015.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую
Synonyms:
, , , , (good and evil) / , (mind and matter)


Look at other dictionaries:

  • Dualism — • Denotes the religious or theological system which would explain the universe as the outcome of two eternally opposed and coexisting principles Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Dualism     Dualism …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • DUALISM — DUALISM, the religious or philosophical doctrine which holds that reality consists, or is the outcome, of two ultimate principles which cannot be reduced to one more ultimate first cause. Dualistic systems have appeared in philosophical… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • dualism — DUALÍSM s.n. 1. Concepţie, doctrină care consideră ca principiu al existenţei două elemente diferite şi ireductibile, materia şi spiritul. 2. (impr.) Dualitate. 3. Formă de conducere statală realizată, în 1867, printr o uniune personală între… …   Dicționar Român

  • Dualism — Du al*ism, n. [Cf. F. dualisme.] State of being dual or twofold; a twofold division; any system which is founded on a double principle, or a twofold distinction; as: (a) (Philos.) A view of man as constituted of two original and independent… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • dualism — 1794, from Fr. dualisme (1755), in philosophical and theological senses; see DUAL (Cf. dual) + ISM (Cf. ism) …   Etymology dictionary

  • dualism — ► NOUN 1) division into two opposed or contrasted aspects, such as good and evil or mind and matter. 2) duality. DERIVATIVES dualist noun & adjective dualistic adjective …   English terms dictionary

  • dualism — [do͞o′əliz΄əm, dyo͞o′əliz΄əm] n. 1. the state of being dual; duality 2. Philos. the theory that the world is ultimately composed of, or explicable in terms of, two basic entities, as mind and matter 3. Theol. a) the doctrine that there are two… …   English World dictionary

  • Dualism — For other uses, see Dualism (disambiguation). Dualism (from the Latin word duo meaning two ) denotes a state of two parts. The term dualism was originally coined to denote co eternal binary opposition, a meaning that is preserved in metaphysical… …   Wikipedia

  • dualism — dualist, n., adj. /dooh euh liz euhm, dyooh /, n. 1. the state of being dual or consisting of two parts; division into two. 2. Philos. a. the view that there are just two mutually irreducible substances. Cf. monism, pluralism. b. the view that… …   Universalium

  • dualism — [[t]dju͟ːəlɪzəm, AM du͟ː [/t]] N UNCOUNT Dualism is the state of having two main parts or aspects, or the belief that something has two main parts or aspects. [FORMAL] He ignores the traditional Christian dualism between body and soul. ...the… …   English dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”