Is Lamarckism returning to evolutionary biology?

In this paper, we address the question whether insights on the inheritance of environmentally induced epigenetic marks can be considered as the return to Lamarckism in evolutionary biology, as it is sometimes proclaimed. We analyze and clarify Lamarck?s understanding of the inheritance of acquired traits. After that, we briefly summarize the contemporary insights on the inheritance of acquired epigenetic marks. We differentiate between the two roles that epigenetic inheritance can play in the evolutionary process. For each of these roles, we analyze whether it can be seen as Lamarckism. The conclusion of our analysis is that neither of the two roles listed can be regarded as the return to Lamarckian concept of evolution.