Dualism
noun /ˈdjuːəlɪzəm/ — The belief in two fundamental principles — mind and body, good and evil, light and dark.
Definition
The division of something conceptually into two opposed or contrasted aspects; the philosophical theory that the mind and body are fundamentally distinct; any view that the world is governed by two fundamental principles.
Beyond the definition
Dualism is one of the most intuitive philosophical positions — we feel the gap between mind and body, between thought and action, between our intentions and our deeds. Descartes made it systematic; the difficulty of resolving it keeps philosophy going.
Origin & history
From Latin dualis — containing two (from duo: two). The system of the two — named for the number it insists upon.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
The Cartesian dualism of mind and body has been argued against for three centuries and remains attractive.
Every good-versus-evil narrative has a dualist structure: the world sorted into two teams.
She'd moved past dualism into something more complex — the world rarely divided so cleanly.
How to use it
This entry uses a noun. Follow the examples for articles and singular or plural forms; not every noun takes “a” or “an.”
Choose “Dualism” when the meaning fits your context: The division of something conceptually into two opposed or contrasted aspects; the philosophical theory that the mind and body are fundamentally distinct; any view that the world is governed by two fundamental principles.
Synonyms
dichotomy, binary thinking, two-ness
Antonyms
monism, holism, unity
Related words
Word in the Wild
See how this word appears in life, language and stories.
Illustrative sentences and imagined stories for learning — not verified sightings, interviews, or sourced quotations.
Fictional scene
Debate at Crossroads
Two adults stand at a crossroads in woods, one pointing toward a light path while the other gestures toward a dark path.
The choice of two fundamentally different paths illustrates dualism by positioning two opposed, contrasted aspects of reality against each other. It visualizes the conflict between two distinct worldviews, emphasizing how reality is conceptually divided into separate, competing categories by the observers.
Image credit: Wordspun · AI-generated conceptual illustration
Questions about this word
What does "Dualism" mean?
Dualism is noun meaning: The belief in two fundamental principles — mind and body, good and evil, light and dark.. The division of something conceptually into two opposed or contrasted aspects; the philosophical theory that the mind and body are fundamentally distinct; any view that the world is governed by two fundamental principles.
Where does the word "Dualism" come from?
From Latin dualis — containing two (from duo: two). The system of the two — named for the number it insists upon.