Gilbert Gottlieb's theory of probabilistic epigenesis: probabilities and realities in development

Gilbert Gottlieb's theory of probabilistic epigenesis is a fertile ground for further theoretical construction in developmental science. It fills in the gap in the domineering empiricism and honoring of inductive generalization that dominates psychology in the beginning of the 21st century, by offering a basic deductive framework for guiding the efforts of developmental science. It was based on a program of careful experimental investigations of the early avian ontogenies -- later to be generalized to the developmental processes as a generic phenomenon. Further development of his theory takes the form of (a) explicating the different meanings of probabilism in his model, and (b) extending his multi-level system to include psychological and social levels of organization. Gottlieb's contribution allows for a new synthesis of contemporary epigenetics and developmental science, and sets up major challenges for the methodology of research on development.