Rene Descartes' concept that there are two types of elements: 1) physical matter, which is in the realm of science and can be measured by scientists, and 2) spiritual or mental matter, which has no physical properties and can not be measured by science, but is the domain of religion and the church.

( philo.) - That there are two sorts of substances: mind and body, which are utterly distinct and independent of each other. Bodies are constrained by by the laws of physics, whereas minds are free. Descartes formulated the theory in order to keep Christian theology safe from physical laws.

Pertaining to the theories of the philosopher, Rene Descartes, Western science has made a distinction between the mind and the body.

It refers to the philosophical position championed by René Descartes (1596-1650), French mathematician and philosopher, which states that brain and mind are two distinct and irreducible principles, and that mind cannot be explained by the brain alone. See: Brain Project's Extracts from René Descartes' Philosophical Analysis of the Mind and the Brain.

Descartes view of the world as consisting of two fundamental entities "matter" and "mind." (p. 603)