ABSTRACT
F ew scientific ideas are so well embedded in popular culture as the idea that certain features of an organism are genetically determined, while others are acquired by interaction with the
Developmental systems theory rejects the dichotomous approach to development: The genes are just one resource that is available to the developmental process. There is a fundamental symmetry between the role of the genes and that of the maternal cytoplasm, or of childhood exposure to language. The full range of developmental resources represents a complex system that is replicated in development. There is much to be said about the different roles of particular resources. But there is nothing that divides the resources into two fundamental kinds. The role of the genes is no more unique than the role of many other factors.
