Readiness, Inclination, Ability: A Relational Ontology of Embryogenesis: 5 Differentiation: Recutting Readiness

Introduction

We have seen that ability defines the organismal horizon of potential, inclination biases which paths are more readily actualised, and individuation provides the perspectival locus for these modes to operate. Differentiation is the stage where these three forces converge to produce locally committed developmental outcomes without fracturing organismal coherence.

Differentiation is not the imposition of identity; it is the actualisation of structured readiness along specific trajectories, enabled by the interplay of ability, inclination, and individuation.

Narrowing Ability Locally

Differentiation involves the progressive narrowing of ability at the level of individual cells or tissues:

• A pluripotent stem cell possesses maximal ability — a wide horizon of potential.

• As differentiation proceeds, the operational repertoire of the cell becomes constrained to cell-type-specific capacities.

• This narrowing is not a loss of potential; it is the local articulation of organismal ability, made meaningful through individuation.

Example: a hematopoietic stem cell retains the organism-level potential to produce various blood lineages but, as it commits to the myeloid lineage, its ability is locally narrowed to those fates.

Stabilising Inclination

While ability narrows, inclination becomes reinforced:

• Epigenetic modifications, local signalling, and mechanical cues bias the cell toward specific fates.

• These biases ensure that the locally accessible paths are more readily actualised than alternative trajectories.

• Inclination stabilisation maintains coherence within tissues, preventing developmental chaos.

Differentiation, therefore, is the concerted sharpening of inclinations, making some actualisations far more likely than others without violating organismal ability.

Differentiation as a Recutting Process

Differentiation is better understood as a perspectival recutting of readiness:

• The organism-level horizon (ability) is projected locally.

• Inclination biases direct the trajectory within this local horizon.

• Individuation ensures that this projection is consistent with the broader system.

In this way, differentiation is a continuous negotiation between global potential and local enactment.

Distributed Coordination

A key feature of differentiation is its collective aspect:

• Cells within a tissue do not differentiate in isolation; they coordinate via signalling and mechanical feedback.

• The narrowing of ability and stabilisation of inclination is therefore a distributed process, maintaining coherence across the embryo.

This distributed coordination ensures that differentiation leads to functionally integrated tissues and organs.

Looking Forward

Post 6 will examine morphogenesis — how the triad of readiness is enacted at the tissue and organ level. Morphogenesis is where local differentiation and coordinated inclinations interact with structural constraints, shaping the organism into its functional form.