Rama, Tiago (2026) Probabilistic Epigenetics: An informational Approach. [Preprint]
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Abstract
The career of the developmental psychobiologist Gilbert Gottlieb revolved around the construction of a probabilistic view of epigenetics. In drastic contrast to instinct and nativist theories which portray development as a determinate sequence of changes controlled by a genetic master plan, Gottlieb’s experiments and theory picture (behavioral) development as a highly multicausal complex process, with bidirectional interactions across different levels of organization and profound influences from ecological causes. Notwithstanding, the rejection of deterministic epigenetics was accompanied by the neglect of the concept of information in developmental biology, which various developmental systems theorists advocated. Information, particularly its interpretation in the gene-centered framework, was seen as an obstacle to probabilistic epigenetics. In recent years, however, Paul Griffiths and colleagues have developed an informational view of development that encompasses the theoretical and experimental background of developmental systems theory. There is thus an opportunity to build a bridge between probabilistic epigenetics and information theory, and this paper explores this avenue. Here I explore probabilistic epigenetics by adopting an informational view that allows us to represent and model specific aspects related to the probabilistic nature of development: dynamic epigenetic landscapes, probabilistic phenotypic repertoires, and the multicausality, non-linearity, and bidirectionality of developmental processes. This paper intends to enrich probabilistic epigenetics with informational tools while extending the applicability and utility of Griffiths et al.’s theory to previously unexplored developmental phenomena.
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