# Hard inheritance

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'''Hard inheritance''' was a model of [heredity](/source/heredity) that explicitly excludes any acquired characteristics, such as of [Lamarckism](/source/Lamarckism). It is the exact opposite of [soft inheritance](/source/soft_inheritance), coined by [Ernst Mayr](/source/Ernst_Mayr) to contrast ideas about [inheritance](/source/Biological_inheritance).

Hard inheritance states that characteristics of an organism's offspring (passed on through [DNA](/source/DNA)) will not be affected by the actions that the [parental](/source/parental) [organism](/source/organism) performs during its lifetime. For example: a medieval [blacksmith](/source/blacksmith) who uses only his right arm to [forge](/source/forge) [steel](/source/steel) will not sire a son with a stronger right arm than left because the blacksmith's actions do not alter his genetic code. Inheritance due to usage and non-usage is excluded. Inheritance works as described in the [modern synthesis of evolutionary biology](/source/Modern_synthesis_(20th_century)).<ref>[Mayr, Ernst](/source/Ernst_Mayr) (1980). Provine, William B.; Mayr, Ernst. ed. The Evolutionary synthesis: perspectives on the unification of biology. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. pp. 1–48. {{ISBN|0-674-27225-0}}</ref>

The existence of inherited [epigenetic variants](/source/epigenetics) has led to renewed interest in soft inheritance.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Richards | first1 = E. J. | year = 2006 | title = Inherited epigenetic variation—revisiting soft inheritance | url = | journal = [Nature Reviews Genetics](/source/Nature_Reviews_Genetics) | volume = 7 | issue = 5| pages = 395–401 | doi = 10.1038/nrg1834 | pmid = 16534512 }}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

Category:Epigenetics
Category:Evolution
Category:Population genetics

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