What is dualism?

Dualism is when two very different things work together to make one whole thing.

Imagine you have a toy robot that moves and talks, but inside it are two parts working together: one part makes it move, like the wheels spinning, and the other part makes it talk, like the voice coming out. These two parts are very different, but they both help the robot do what it does best.

Think of your body as the robot’s moving part, you walk, you run, you eat cookies. Then think of your mind as the talking part, you imagine things, you feel happy or sad, you dream about flying pigs. In dualism, we say that your body and your mind are two separate things but they both make up you.

So just like a robot needs both moving and talking parts to work well, some people think our bodies and minds need each other, even though they're different, to be who we are.