Epigenesis: the Role of Biological Models in Developmental Psychology

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Abstract
This paper analyzes the concept of epigenesis and suggests it does not attribute to the environment a sufficiently important causal role. Developmental biologists characterize epigenesis as a model of development involving: (1) a causal sequence of events, (2) a series of stages, (3) progressive differentiation, (4) increasing complexity and organization, and (5) emergent properties. Several developmental biologists claim that epigenesis is compatible with viewing development as being causally closed to the environment. If the environment plays no fundamental causal role in biological epigenesis, then developmental psychologists cannot rely upon it as their fundamental conceptual model of psychological development.

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