Chapter 3: The Cell, Evolution and Occam's Razor Check Access

Biology remains a descriptive, non-predictive science. As a consequence, there is no experimental evidence for genetic and phenotypic change consistent with phylogeny, such as the evolution of fish into amphibians, reptiles, mammals and birds. Therefore, intelligent design lays persistent claim to the process of evolution on par with the neo-Darwinian modern synthesis, despite being based on conflicting beliefs. In contrast, an approach to embryology and phylogeny through cell–cell signaling offers an integrated mechanism of evolution that permits a direct path from the unicellular form to complex multicellular life. By viewing the ontogeny and phylogeny of the evolutionary process as a cohesive and continuous diachronic process from its origins, complicated physiology can be understood as a logical progression based on cell–cell signaling, mediated by receptor-mediated ligands. From this base, epigenetic inheritance is acknowledged as a crucial co-partner to vertical genomic inheritance in this continuous process of integration. It is argued that a central tenet can be identified that underlies all evolutionary development: the unicellular state is its determining factor, despite all macroscopic manifestations. As a unifying and simple differential frame, this principle accords as Occam's razor – the simplest answer being the correct one – applied to biological systems.