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.