What is dualism?

“But… I denied that I possessed senses or a body; I hesitate, however, for what follows from that? Am I so dependent on the body and the senses that without these I cannot exist? (Descartes, Meditation 2, p. 279)

Both Plato and Descartes offer arguments for “dualism.” What is dualism? Be detailed and specific. In this essay outline the arguments from these philosophers that you take to be essential to their dualistic conclusions. What do you suppose leads these philosophers want to take a dualistic position? How do these philosophers take the body to either promote or hinder the cultivation of the soul/mind? What major philosophical problem arises from dualism?