Gilbert Gottlieb's theory of
probabilistic epigenesis replaced the nature - nurture dichotomy, and similar oppositions, with an integrated account of the development of the entire behavioral phenotype.
Abstract: Gilbert Gottlieb's theory of probabilistic
epigenesis replaced the nature - nurture dichotomy, and similar oppositions, with an integrated account of the development of the entire behavioral phenotype.
Chemical or structural modifications to DNA can switch off genes, and these changes can pass from generation to generation, a phenomenon
called epigenesis.
Gilbert Gottlieb's
probabilistic epigenesis and his scheme of psychobiological development provide an ideal starting point for this effort.
To my taste, preformation is less interesting, and I am tempted to say less inspiring, than
epigenesis.
The theories of preformation and
epigenesis must be examined further.
As more and more traits are attributed to
epigenesis and inheritance, from diabetes to cancer risk to personality to homosexuality, mothers are increasingly being scrutinized for the way even their smallest decisions affect their offspring.
There are a few ways that the media can fairly report
the epigenesis of health and disease.
Keywords: heritability, gene - environment interaction, additivity, twins, knockout, behaviour genetics, probabilistic epigenesis