L’HÉRÉDITÉ DE L’ACQUIS, UNE HYPOTHÈSE FAUSSE MAIS RÉCURRENTE (1958–2018)
THE INHERITANCE OF ACQUIRED CHARAC- TERISTICS: A FALSE BUT RECURRENT HY- POTHESIS (1958–2018)

Summary/Abstract: The inheritance of acquired characteristics seems to be a trendy hypothesis in the fields of biological and cultural evolution, despite the fact that it has already been refuted many times, and has been shown inconsistent with all the available knowledge accumulated. This paper presents its failure, and its logical and factual inferiority to multilevel selection, offering new hypotheses explaining its attractive power. The argumentation aims to prove that the biological variations (genetic mutations) and cultural variations (intellectual innovations) are certainly not changes directed by the environment, but are analogous to stochastic changes which are closely channeled by many selective screens, according to the synergic theory of evolution and the synergic theory of the human sciences and their core, multilevel selection.

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