Life Musings

On three separate occasions, I've had mild debates with people over whether non-MD doctorate holders should be addressed as "Doctor." In both instances, there were people who claimed that by convnetion, only medical doctors should be addressed by this term outside of an academic context.

This is, of course, nonsense. What about Dr. James Dobson, Dr. Joyce Brothers and Dr. Laura Schlessinger, to name just a few examples. Heck, what about Dr. Martin Luther King? Would these people care to tell the African-American community that America is wrong to call this great civil rights activist "Doctor"?

We should also be aware that in some cultures, people are expected to pay greater attention to such things. In Germany, for example, greater emphasis is placed on such titles. I don't think that's unwarranted at all.

(Admittedly, one can go overboard. Consider The Philippine News, a cheesy newspaper for the Filipino-American community. I've read instances wherein people are referred to as "Engineer Santos" or words to that effect. This strikes me as excessive. I think it indicates a desire to claim titles where none would ordinarily be used -- either internationally, in the USA or on Philippine soil. That's a topic for another day, though.)

What's more, the failure to address people by this title can be rather damaging in a professional context. This article on the web says more about that, and I think it raises some valuable points.