Paul Griffiths — the author of Chapter 6 in this book — argues that the process coined “genetic assimilation” has little connection with the issue C. H. Waddington had in mind when he invented the term. This chapter's response is that Griffiths is running two things together, genetic canalization and genetic assimilation. What he says would make sense if related to an earlier paper by, David Papineau, the author of this chapter. Previously David Papineau had been concerned only with Waddington's notion of genetic canalization, but Waddington's thoughts about the Baldwin Effect involve the more specific idea of genetic assimilation, and it was these thoughts that David Papineau addressed in that paper. Given this, Griffith's criticisms miss their mark. Keywords:genetic canalization,
Waddington,
gene,
developmental resource