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This paper aims at examining the way in which Aristotle deals with the problem of genetic malformations, developed, in particular, in The Generation of Animals (Book IV), within the theory of the genetic inheritance. According to this doctrine a malformation represents a deviation from the teleological development of the reproductive process, whose first step is represented by a female birth. Even though necessary for the continuation of the species, this event is described within the same theoretical frame of the genetic anomalies by Aristotle, who is committed to provide some prescriptions about mating and reproduction, in order to prevent this departure. In general, the issue of malformations highlights the presence of the material and mechanical aspect of the nature which, at times, can support or obstruct its teleological design, but which constitutes one of the fundamental assumptions of the physis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epigenetics is regarded as a promising research field to better understand the interplay between genetic and environmental factors underlying both typical and atypical developmental processes (from embryonic cell specialization to severe neurological and mental disorders). The aim of this paper is to describe the history of the concept of epigenesis from its Aristotelian foundation. Emphasizing the relation between internal powers and external factors of change, Aristotle seems to anticipate the current meaning of epigenetics, coined by Conrad Waddington in 1940 and then developed by the modern genetics. The discovery of epigenetic mechanisms has challenged the static nature of DNA pointing out the dynamic and reversible changes occurring in response to environmental prompts. This stimulates considerations on the relational nature of life in the response to various environmental stimuli. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]