Mind–body dualism
Ontological dualism makes dual commitments about the nature of existence as it relates to mind and matter, and can be divided into three different types:Substance dualism is a type of dualism most famously defended by René Descartes, which states that there are two kinds of foundation: mental and body. This philosophy states that the mental can exist outside of the body, and the body cannot think. Substance dualism is important historically for having given rise to much thought regarding the famous mind–body problem. Substance dualism is a philosophical position compatible with most theologies which claim that immortal souls occupy an independent realm of existence distinct from that of the physical world.
Romanian philosophy
Heliade Rădulescu proposes, against monisms and dualisms of all kind, a trinitarian philosophy. He affirms that all philosophical concepts come in dualities, which can be classified in two categories: sympathetic (or parallel) and antipathetic. A sympathetic duality is formed by two "positive" terms, which indicate an existence: time / space; spirit / matter; right / duty etc. An antipathetic duality contains a positive and a negative term: life / death; movement / inertia; good / evil etc. Now, each sympathetic duality produces a third term, through which the dualism is overcome. Here are some examples: spirit / matter / universe; form / substance / body; progress / conservation / perfectibility; spiritual man / physical man / moral man. Beginning from here, Heliade Rădulescu develops a kind of cosmology, by means of naïve although ingenious geometrical considerations. He means thus to offer a metaphysical explanation of progress and then, armed with this metaphysics, to fight the liberalism. For his final purpose is to offer an argument in support of his political position, called "progressive conservatism". To those who reply that this is an inconsistent position, he answers that the duality progress / conservation is not antipathetic, but sympathetic, and that only a progressive conservatism is perfectible.