Does inverted inheritance make sense at all?

Inheritance theory is broadening by emphasizing two kinds of diversity, both justified by recent empirical advances: the material substrates of inheritance beyond genes, and the directions of inheritance relationships beyond vertical, parent-to-offspring transmission. There are different inheritance materials-genetic, epigenetic, parental, cultural-and inheritance directions-vertical, oblique, horizontal. This shift is accompanied by theoretical reconceptualizations associated with developmental and organismal views of inheritance, which understand inheritance as the transgenerational reconstruction of traits that explain trait persistence across a lineage. Within this framework, this article draws attention to inverted inheritance: inheritance relationships that run from a younger generation to an older one. Although this idea may initially seem at odds with how inheritance is generally understood and studied, this article argues that inverted inheritance is compatible with-and indeed illuminated by-the current expansion of inheritance theory. While it highlights relationships that invite empirical investigation, it also sheds light on our conceptualization of what inheritance is.