What is "epigenesis"

Epigenesis \Ep`i*gen"e*sis\, n. [Pref. epi- + genesis.] (Biol.) The theory of generation which holds that the germ is created entirely new, not merely expanded, by the procreative power of the parents. It is opposed to the theory of evolution, also to syngenesis.

n. 1 (context biology English) The theory that an organism develops by differentiation from an unstructured egg rather than by simple enlarging of something preformed. 2 (context geology English) changes in the mineral content of rock after its formation

n. a geological change in the mineral content of rock after the rock has formed

Epigenesis may refer to:

• Epigenesis (biology), describes morphogenesis and development of an organism
  • By analogy, a philosophical and theological concept, part of the concept of spiritual evolution
• The Epigenesis, a 2010 album by Melechesh
• Epigenesis, a video game created during the 2013 Make Something Unreal competition

In biology, epigenesis (or, in contrast to preformationism, neoformationism) is the process by which plants, animals and fungi develop from a seed, spore or egg through a sequence of steps in which cells differentiate and organs form.

Aristotle first published the theory of epigenesis in his book On the Generation of Animals. Although epigenesis appears to be an obvious fact in today's genetic age, historically creationist theories of life's origins retarded its acceptance. However, during the late 18th century an extended and controversial debate among biologists finally led epigenesis to eclipse the long-established preformationist view. The embryologist Caspar Friedrich Wolff refuted preformationism in 1759 in favor of epigenesis, but this did not sound the death knell of preformationist ideology.