CHAPTER 2 



BASIC ASSUMPTIONS 



Before one can decide that the theory of Evolution is the best 

 explanation of the present-day range of forms of living material 

 one should examine all the implications that such a theory may 

 hold. Too often the theory is applied to, say, the development of 

 the horse and then because it is held to be applicable there it is 

 extended to the rest of the animal kingdom with little or no further 

 evidence. 



There are, however, seven basic assumptions that are often 

 not mentioned during discussions of Evolution. Many evolution- 

 ists ignore the first six assumptions and only consider the seventh. 

 These are as follows. 



(1) The first assumption is that non-living things gave rise to 

 living material, i.e. spontaneous generation occurred. 



(2) The second assumption is that spontaneous generation 

 occurred only once. 



The other assumptions all follow from the second one. 



(3) The third assumption is that viruses, bacteria, plants and 

 animals are all interrelated. 



(4) The fourth assumption is that the Protozoa gave rise to the 

 Metazoa. 



(5) The fifth assumption is that the various invertebrate phyla 

 are interrelated. 



(6) The sixth assumption is that the invertebrates gave rise to 

 the vertebrates. 



(7) The seventh assumption is that within the vertebrates the 

 fish gave rise to the amphibia, the amphibia to the reptiles, and 

 the reptiles to the birds and mammals. Sometimes this is expressed 

 in other words, i.e. that the modern amphibia and reptiles had a 

 common ancestral stock, and so on. 



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