Palingenesis

Palingenesis (; also palingenesia from Greek: παλιγγενεσία) is a concept of rebirth or re-creation, used in various contexts in philosophy, theology, politics, and biology. Its meaning stems from Greek palin, meaning 'again', and genesis, meaning 'birth'. In biology, it is another word for recapitulation – the largely discredited hypothesis that the development of an advanced individual organism mirrors the development of entire, more primitive species. In political theory, it is a central component of Roger Griffin's analysis of fascism as a fundamentally modernist ideology. In theology, the word may refer to reincarnation or to Christian spiritual rebirth.