What concept describes reality as having two elements, mind and matter, and functioning on two levels?

The concept that describes reality as having two elements, mind and matter, and functioning on two levels is dualism. Dualism posits that there are two fundamental kinds of substance or reality: mental (mind) and physical (matter). This approach suggests that the mind and body are distinct and interact with one another but are not reducible to one another.

The theory emphasizes the importance of both the mental processes and the physical processes, acknowledging that both play a critical role in understanding existence and human experience. Dualism has roots in the philosophical ideas of thinkers like René Descartes, who famously articulated the separation between the realm of the mind and the realm of the body.

Other concepts like property dualism entail that while there is only one kind of substance (usually physical), it can have both physical properties and mental properties, which would not fully align with the premise of dualism that explicitly recognizes two distinct elements. Materialism, on the other hand, maintains that everything is fundamentally physical, denying the separate existence of the mind. Idealism posits that reality is fundamentally mental or spiritual in nature, which opposes the dualistic framework. This makes dualism the most fitting answer to the question regarding the two levels of reality.