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Defined in the most general way, hypogene speleogenesis is the origin of caves in which the cave-forming agency comes from depth, in contrast to epigene speleogenesis in which the cave-forming agency (meteoric recharge and its inherent or soil-derived aggressiveness) originates at the surface. A more specific definition should rely on attributes of the cave-forming agency which are most suitable and efficient for discrimination between epigene and hypogene origin of caves.
Relying on the determination of a source of the aggressiveness in distinguishing hypogene speleogenesis is the legitimate approach but it is not a methodologically sound and practically efficient one.
The hydrogeological approach and the reference to upwelling groundwater circulation in the definition of hypogene speleogenesis provide a theoretically and methodologically sound basis not only for identifying the type of speleogenesis, but also for spatial and temporal prognosis of hypogene speleogenesis.