Political Science

Edward Jenner and Charles Darwin are two of the well-known scientists to have discovered a scientific theory that is of great use until the present time. Their findings are published in Vaccination against smallpox for Jenners work and Origin of Species for Darwins work. While their topics are relatively different, it is noticed that their arguments and their scientific arguments are tied together.

Edward Jenner on Vaccination
Jenners name is attached to the promotion and research of vaccination with the purpose of preventing diseases, which during the scientists time often turn into an epidemic. From Jenners scientific theory, he concluded that the protection derived from cowpox is not limited only to smallpox but can be transferred to another person in order to enhance the other persons mechanism of protection against the disease. However, it is to be noted that he is not the first to work with vaccination but became significant because of his dedication towards promoting the use of vaccination and in researching for proving that it can prevent diseases.

In order to prove his conclusion that vaccine is an effective tool for the prevention of the spread of diseases, he conducted several studies involving different respondents. During his first study, he solicited the participation of Sarah Nelms, a young dairymaid, and James Phipps, an 8-year-old boy (Jenner). Jenner took fresh cowpox lesions from Nelms and inoculated Phipps using the matter taken from Nelms. The boy experienced fever, loss of appetite, and feeling of coldness but developed immunity from smallpox after being inoculated with a smallpox lesion after the cowpox inoculation. The results of such experiment proving the validity of his conclusions were submitted by Jenner to the Royal Society but were still rejected. He distributed the vaccine to several of his friends and received great commendation for its effectiveness. Thus, the use of experiment has been the primary tool of Jenner for showing that his conclusions are indeed valid and reliable despite the rejections and ridicule he received.

Charles Darwin on the Origin
Charles Darwin, in his book entitled The Origin of Species, argued that the species existing today are not created independently but descended from several different species. According to him, the species did not come about independently but can be traced back to different species that have existed in the past. His argument, in simple terms, posits that what exists today came from a simple organism that has been subjected to evolution as a result of artificial variation, variation in nature, struggle for existence, and natural selection. Based on his arguments, it can be derived that species are not created uniquely according to what they are now and thus, has been the subject of change since the time of their inception. Over time, the factors of adaptation, natural variation, artificial variation, and struggle for existence have led to the existence of a multitude of species.  For example, the elephant as we know it today is not created as a unique specie in the past but is an offspring to a variety of species that belong to a family of ancestors carrying different characteristics than the present-day elephant. Over time, the living conditions, food, and other similar factors have produced the elephant as it is known today. Another classic example to demonstrate the origin of species today is that of man. Human beings are known to have shared the same ancestral lines as chimpanzees but factors of variation, natural selection, and struggle for existence led to the characteristics shared today by the human beings. In terms of variations that led to the changes in the species, Darwin further observed that there is a pattern that is usually followed. First, the variation is produced as a response to the stimulus. Second, there is a selection of variation that the specie would follow based on its suitability to the stimulus. Third, the variation is inherited and passed on to the succeeding generations.

When he was on board the H.M.S. Beagle, he made his most interesting observations that challenged the current status quo of scientific theories proposed by the naturalist scientific paradigm. It went against the general idea that the species have come through as distinct from the time they are first known until their present-day existence. Based on the fossils excavated from the past, the naturalist scientist offered the idea that these species have existed as they really are and no agent of force or nature have allowed them to evolve into other species. In order to prove his theory that the multiple species known today came from a set of species, he compared the fossils and observed the existence of animals and plants in certain geographical conditions.

Moreover, Darwin also supplemented the idea of the naturalists, which is that the external conditions affect the characteristics of the species. As for Darwin, the concentration on external conditions is not enough as there are still the variable of coadaptation among the organic beings and the physical living conditions (Darwin). Darwin would not accept the proposition that it is external environments alone that contributes to the changing living conditions of the organic beings. The consideration of external environments alone undermines the existence of coadaptation among the species that allow them to help one another and maintain their existence in the ecological environment.

Jenner and Darwin Human Beings and the Natural World
The theories of Jenner deal mostly with the separation of human beings from the natural world. He has shown that it is possible for the human beings to be taken away from the natural world through human intervention, which in his case involved vaccines. Despite the success of Jenner in persuading people that vaccine is an effective tool for the prevention of diseases, Darwins theory is able to show that the human beings can not be separated from the natural world.

Based on Darwins theory, the human beings are in constant interaction with the natural world. The external environment of the human beings serves as the factor that allows the species to undergo natural selection. The natural world is in constant interaction and is inseparable to the existence of human beings as it affects their characteristics in order for the species to evolve. In essence of Darwins theory, the events, including the diseases, are considered to be part of the processes involved that leads to the evolution of species into beings that are capable of enduring the conditions presented by the natural world. Aside from this, the diseases are also constantly evolving from a single strain into various types that affect the existence of the human beings.

Conclusion
Both Jenner and Darwin provided important scientific theories that helped in explaining and improving the lives of human beings and other species. Jenners main contribution lied on the formulation of a means of improving the lives of people and aided in minimizing the threats to humanity. On the other hand, Darwin explained the existence of multiple species and the origin of these. The books written by the two scientists have similarities in terms of the scientific inquiry such that both indulged into scientific research. On the other hand, the findings on human beings and the natural world are different and are found to be in opposing poles.