this idea = known as dualism, is elementary.
one if its big proponents was descartes:
rather than get upset about the implications of mind/body dualism - here's a link to some things you should know about descartes
http://www.vegans.org.uk/descartes.html
yeah its a vegan link
that's not the point.
the point is what kind of person or whatever this guy descartes was and the implications of his absurd ideas
of course he didnt invent dualism - it's Platonic