Dualism

Dualism is a philosophical worldview that posits a fundamental division between two irreducible and independent substances or realms. The most common form is Mind-Body Dualism, which asserts a strict separation between consciousness (mind, soul, spirit) and matter (the physical body, the material world). Dialectical Materialism, the philosophical basis of Marxism, fundamentally rejects dualism as an unscientific doctrine that misrepresents the nature of reality and consciousness. All of dualism comes under metaphysics, for Marxists, consciousness is not a separate substance but a material process, the activity of the brain, which is itself a product of natural and social evolution. Consciousness arises from and remains dependent upon material conditions; it does not exist in a separate realm.

Historical Context and Key Proponents

Plato believed in his theory of Forms posited a immaterial and transcendental, perfect realm of ideals (the world of Being) versus the imperfect and material world (the world of Sensation), wherein the soul in it it's supposed immortality belonged to the first realm. Essentially Plato asserts that matter and physical forms are lower expressions of the true Being or soul, and the physical realm itself (the world of Sensation) is merely a lesser realm where the soul is imprisoned and thus seeks to escape it.