Encyclopedia of Ontogenetic Systems, Philosophy of Science, and Evolutionary Dogmas

• Autogenesis — An idealistic biological and philosophical theory according to which the evolution of living organisms and the emergence of new species are explained exclusively by the action of internal factors, mystical forces, or intrinsic vital impulses, denying the role of natural selection and the external environment. In a strict biochemical sense, the term can also describe the spontaneous generation or automatic formation of organic structures from preexisting elements within the same cellular environment.