preformation
Already formed beforehand
Preformation is the now-discredited biological theory that organisms develop from miniature but fully formed versions of themselves present in the egg or sperm, rather than developing their structures gradually.
This idea dominated embryology before microscopy and experimental evidence established the modern understanding of development.
The term also appears in other contexts to describe anything shaped or structured in advance: The preformation of the concrete panels allowed for rapid assembly on site.
Protective outer shell
- preexistenceBeing before current form
- homunculusArtificial miniature human
- miniatureReduced-scale representation
- germDisease-causing microorganism
generation · embryo · seed · nested · unfolding · predetermined · doctrine · speculation
Decision made in advance
- preexistenceBeing before current form
- determinismDoctrine of causal necessity
- foreordinationPredetermined divine decree
- providenceDivine protective care
immutable · predetermined · preordained · essence · Leibniz · monad · unfolding · potential
Developmental shape emergence
- ontogenyIndividual's developmental history
- differentiationRecognizing meaningful differences
- organogenesisEmbryonic tissue becoming structures
- inheritanceProperty received from ancestors
reproduction · germinal · embryogenesis · primordium · rudiment · precursor
Baroque-era polymath philosopher-mathematician
- microscopeInstrument for viewing minute objects
- seventeenth-centuryRelating to the 1600s
- eighteenth-centuryRelating to the 1700s
- vitalismNon-physical life principle
encasement
Protective outer shell
- preexistenceBeing before current form
- homunculusArtificial miniature human
- miniatureReduced-scale representation
germ · generation · embryo · seed · nested · unfolding · predetermined · doctrine · speculation
predetermination
Decision made in advance
- preexistenceBeing before current form
- determinismDoctrine of causal necessity
- foreordinationPredetermined divine decree
providence · immutable · predetermined · preordained · essence · Leibniz · monad · unfolding · potential · actualization
morphogenesis
Developmental shape emergence
- ontogenyIndividual's developmental history
- differentiationRecognizing meaningful differences
- organogenesisEmbryonic tissue becoming structures
inheritance · reproduction · germinal · embryogenesis · primordium · rudiment · precursor
Leibniz
Baroque-era polymath philosopher-mathematician
- microscopeInstrument for viewing minute objects
- seventeenth-centuryRelating to the 1600s
- eighteenth-centuryRelating to the 1700s