Mister, Doctor, or Does it Matter?

February 9 by | 51 comments | Lifestyle | Tags: , , , ,

Mister, Doctor, or Does It Matter?

 

My mother was the secretary at Glennwood Baptist Church in Morris, Alabama for about eight or nine years. My parents attended Glennwood for a while, and the pastor (David Bays) is someone I respect and admire very greatly. Even when I moved to St. Louis, after I got married, and after Shannon and I moved to Memphis, we continued to get a newsletter from Glennwood, and I enjoyed staying abreast of what is going on there. The newsletters that came to our house changed shortly after I defended my dissertation in May, 2006. “Mr. and Mrs. William Arthur Carden” became “Dr. and Mrs. William Arthur Carden.” In trademark display of motherly pride, I’m sure Mom really enjoyed changing “Mr.” to “Dr.” in the church’s mail-merge.

Getting a PhD is an accomplishment and it is rightly something to be proud of; however, it also provides, for many, an occasion for conceit bordering on arrogance and tactlessness. A few days before Christmas in 2007, I was flipping through my in-laws’ copy of the Birmingham News when I came across a letter to “Miss Manners” from someone who had sent a Christmas card to a cousin with a PhD. The card had been addressed to “Mr. So-and-so” rather than “Dr. So-and-so.” Instead of responding with grace, as one might have hoped that someone of Dr. So-and-so’s high stature would, apparently he wrote back with a self-addressed envelope to “Dr. So-and-so,” a copy of his diploma, and a note saying that it is customary to refer to someone of his stature as “Dr. So-and-so” or “Firstname So-and-so, PhD.”

My thought: wow. That’s pretty insecure.

This caught my eye in part because I’ll admit, I sometimes chafe–with tongue planted firmly in cheek–at getting stuff addressed to “Mr. Carden” when I have earned the right to be addressed as “Dr. Carden,” presumably. When I get arrogant about it, I remember Michael Myers in one of the Austin Powers movies as “Dr. Evil,” reminding people that he “didn’t spend five years in Evil medical school to be called mister, thank you very much.” What a joke.

Economist Tyler Cowen has blogged about how, apparently, people who conspicuously refer to themselves as “Dr.” or “Firstname Lastname, PhD” are often those with arguments or claims that are somewhat weak and that need to be bolstered with an air of authority. While I will admit that qualifications and affiliations are important signals—I’m much more likely to listen to a PhD economist at Harvard in a discussion of the minimum wage than I am to listen to someone who has never taken an economics class but nonetheless maintains a very strong opinion about the subject—reliance on authority is the weakest form of argument or evidence. There are a lot of smart people saying a lot of very off-base things. Nonetheless, they have the credentials to back themselves up. As people stay in school longer and as life expectancies increase, the letters “PhD” will come to have far less signaling value.

Dr. F.A. Hayek’s Nobel Prize address was entitled “the pretence of knowledge,” and while it sought to upbraid those who thought that central planning (or coherent macroeconomic policy) were possible, it speaks today to those who think they are something when they are not. Just because you have a PhD doesn’t mean that you have automatically earned glory, respect, and approbation. While it is customary (and wise) for people to address you properly or defer to you in areas where you have expertise, it is grotesquely immature to insist upon it.

So what’s the message, then, to the newly-minted PhD and to those around people who have doctorates? For the friend or relative, it is customary to refer to someone as “Doctor” in formal communication. This doesn’t give someone the right to get his or her underwear bunched up if someone forgets to say “Doctor” or “PhD” or “Grand Poo-bah” or what have you. If you have something important to say, let that stand on its own merits. If you want to be respected and loved, be respectable and loveable. Don’t rely on the fact that you spent five, six, seven, or however many years grinding away at a graduate degree to earn your favor in another’s eyes.

Art Carden is Assistant Professor of Economics and Business at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee and an Adjunct Fellow with the Oakland, California-based Independent Institute. He has been a visiting researcher at the American Institute for Economic Research in Great Barrington, Massachusetts and at the Ludwig von Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama. He holds a BS and an MA in economics from the University of Alabama as well as an AM and PhD in economics and a Graduate Certificate in New Institutional Social Sciences from Washington University in Saint Louis. His articles and reviews have been published or are forthcoming in numerous scholarly journals and other outlets. He writes regular commentaries for the Ludwig von Mises Institute and the Independent Institute, and he is a regular contributor to an economics weblog at www.divisionoflabour.com. He and his wife Shannon had their first child, Jacob, on July 31, 2008.

  • http://http Yes, But Still…

    Well said!

  • http://www.doodledoll.com timgray

    The only people I ever address as Doctor or Dr. is those that have EARNED my respect. My personal dentist and family doctor are the only two outside of the few prof’s at college that made a major impression on me.

    Also if they “demand” I call them Doctor, I refuse to and will never refer to them as such. They should have received social interaction and tact classes to go with their Phd.

  • J.R. Craft, Ph.D.

    Bravo!

  • Brandon

    This reminds me of my elementary school principal. “Dr. Doreen Housel” Growing up, kids assume Doctor = White Coat, gives shots. Why would we call the principal Doctor? We didn’t understand the Ph.D. designation and would call her “Miss Housel” and she would sharply reply “Its *DOCTOR* Housel” and refuse to respond unless ‘appropriately’ addressed.

    I like the late Randy Pausch’s comment from his mother regarding introducing him after getting his Ph.D.: “He’s a doctor… but not the kind that helps people.”

  • J C___ter, Ph.D.

    “it is grotesquely immature to insist upon it.”

    Generally that’s right, but I very recently found myself confronted with an enormously arrogant medical professional who referred to himself as Dr. B__land, but consistently addressed me by my first name. When he failed to provide even minimally satisfactory service — really, does it take 2 months to read an MRI? — I left his office. But on the way out I added, “And I’m tired of being called by my first name. It’s Dr. C__ter.” I wonder whether he would have been quicker if I’d insisted on that in our first meeting.

  • Anon

    I’ve always found it odd that someone would refer to Mr and Mrs John Smith – that the woman disappears and becomes just an extension of John Smith’s life because she married him. As I kid I used to be really perplexed that my grandmother (a doctor) and her husband were addressed in the form Mr and Doctor John Smith.

    Even at that young age I wasn’t too keen on Mr outranking Mrs, but surely if it does then Dr should outrank Mr and they should have been addressed in the form Dr and Mr Susan Smith?

  • http://www.divisionoflabour.com Art Carden

    The comments reminded of some advice I got from a friend when I finished my PhD. She said “use the ‘Doctor’ thing for all it’s worth” and noted that she got better service at the doctor’s office and other places when she called and said something like “Hi, this is Doctor Soandso. May I speak to Doctor Mydoc?”

  • Claire

    I think this reveals more about your own insecurities than anything else — this article really, really saddened me. I am 22 years old and currently writing my proposal for a PhD — something I want to undertake because my dream career is in adult teaching of an academic subject (Literature), and because I love learning. I couldn’t care less about the letters that will come after my name in three years’ time, and it was depressing to discover that other people see those letters as the main motivation for studying a PhD. It’s 3+ years of hard graft at the highest educational level you can get to. It’s also seriously expensive. The only people go through all that do it just for a little line of letters? I don’t really think so…

  • http://economicsforteachers.blogspot.com Jennifer

    I generally agree but also can really relate to the last few comments – I only make a point of using “Doctor” with people who are clearly so arrogant that it’s the only way to take them down a peg. I also tend to make a point of telling my students to call me Professor or Doctor because I just find it so disrespectful for them to call me by my first name (which I think they do because I look relatively young for a prof).

  • Hutch

    The whole title thing is such phooey. My wife and I have PhD’s, so should we be “Dr. and Dr. Fred Flinstone”? No. “Dr. Wilma Bedrock and Dr. Fred Flinstone”? Ugh.

    What is I didn’t have a PhD? “Mr. and Dr. Fred Flinstone”???
    Just call us Wilma & Fred.

  • http://ChefJoAnna.com JoAnna

    If it’s a professional title, use it (or insist that it be used) when your profession requires it. Otherwise, be a human being and treat everyone with honor and respect.

    When I call clients, for example, I say, Hello, this is Chef JoAnna…so they know who the heck is calling…but I’d never insist on being addressed as “chef”!

    My dilemma is that some of my friends call me ‘Chef’ or introduce me as Chef JoAnna, but no matter how many times I tell them, “Just JoAnna, please,” they won’t stop.

  • http://livingdeliberately.wordpress.com/ angelvalerie

    As someone who will shortly being entering the rarefied atmosphere of being titled with “Dr” I wholeheartedly agree with this article. I am in essence the same person I always was, I just completed some study is all….

  • http://librarymix.blogspot.com Paul

    When I received my PhD I was pretty keen to change Credit Cards etc but once the hassle became apparent I quickly lost interest!

    I don’t generally tend to ‘use’ my doctorate, and certainly never insist upon it! Having said that, if there’s a box that says “Mr/Miss/Mrs/Dr” I’ll choose Dr – why not, I earned it?

    I do find it interesting when other people use it, introducing me for example – I generally prefer to be known in the less formal “firstname secondname” way. If you’re not going to say “Mr John Smith” why do you need to say “Dr Fred Jones”?

    Oh, and my fave description of a PhD? “A doctor without patients” ;).

  • Brad

    I have struggled with this since I have been in practice. Whenever I go into a room with a new patient, I always feel awkward introducing myself as “Dr. Johnson “. I am much more comfortable saying “Hi, I am Brad”. I am very comfortable with this, but are the patients comfortable? I fear that they may not look at me as a professional or take me serious enough. I always think back to a friend who told me “who you are as a person, precedes who you are as a doctor”.

  • Dave

    I was so excited when I graduated that I could finally use the title Doctor, I have to admit I like to see it with my name on mail or in an email, but I do not insist that anyone use it. I prefer that people use my first name though, the first time Doctor is okay, but after that please just call me Dave or David. The greatest feeling I get is when I help someone solve a problem and afterwards they realize that I have a PhD (I still look too young to some people) and they are proud that a “Doctor” took the time to help them out and treated them with respect. The only time I ever get a little touchy about it is when I go to another department on campus to get something or meet with someone and a secretary snubs me or treats me like I am subhuman because they assume I am a student or think because I may not dress the part that they can get away with being rude to me, then I may just come out and say that I am Dr. So and So. In those cases I am madder that the person gets away with treating people badly based on their status.

  • Chris

    Whenever, I am called Mr. “Jones”, I reply. Mr. “Jones” was my father. Call me Dr. “Jones”.” ;-)

  • Ggggggg

    Doctor is used professionally when you are in a professional situation, professional or academic. Doctor is used socially only for medical doctors (dentists, podiatrists, and veterinarians may as well…I suppose). I suspect that this is because physicians, etc, typically must have achieved certain universal qualifications. The problem is that PhD’s from tiny sectarian seminaries or in fields like education are a far cry from, say, a PhD in physics or history from Princeton.

    As an aside, the few PhDs or EdDs who’ve referred to themselves as “doctor” when seeing me have ended up looking like idiots when I explained things in medical terminology, only to be stopped and ask to simplify since their degree was in physical education from NW South Dakota Tech. Outside the office, I prefer “Mr.” lest I be asked for opinions about bursitis or hair loss.

  • Ggggggg

    Oh, and as an aside, we do occasionally get folks who “use it for all it’s worth,” and try to get by standard patient filters by referring to themselves as “Doctor Wannabe.” It’s only successful once, and you’ll be made fun of behind your back forever after.

  • Patrick

    PhD’s are not called “Doctor” outside an academic setting–socially, they are called by the honorifics “Mr”, “Mrs”, or “Ms”–whichever is appropriate/preferred. Only MD’s are called “Doctor” socially. Why? I do not know.

  • http://jcmasterpiece.blogspot.com/ JCMasterpiece

    Referring to someone as Dr. is a form of respect. I find it interesting that this generation has moved so much away from common forms of respect. Almost no one calls themselves Mr or Mrs or requires children to refer to them this way even though it is an issue of respect. On the flip side i also notice that children of this generation don’t treat adults with nearly as much respect as previous generations. Many times they don’t treat them with the respect that they deserve. I believe that this issue is very much a part of the root of that problem.

    The title Dr. is a title of respect. It is something that is earned due to hard work and proving ability and knowledge. Just like the President has earned the title Mr. President and those who have been knighted earned the title Sir. When we purposely forgo those earned titles we in part disrespect the work and effort put into achieving that title.

    I believe that titles should be used more often and not less.

  • Scout

    As a 43 year old student, I understand the hard work that goes into gaining a Phd. But, being an older student I am also in the same age bracket as most of my profs. I have asked two of my instructors if I may call them by name outside of the classroom, by which I mean when having a one on one conversation with them. One said sure, the other said that that was a line that she did not want to cross. In fact, she seemed vaguely offended that I would ask.
    Personally, I feel asked to open myself to the instructor, to be a vessel to be filled, which is a fairly intimate gesture. Furthermore, I am assessed by my instructors which puts me in a position of appeasement. So, each time I address my teacher I am reminded that he or she is a doctor and I am a D.a.P. (dumb ass peon).

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  • Graduate

    I spent many, many more years at University than a medical doctor and feel more than entitled to use the honourific, Dr, whenever I so choose. The US may distinguish between social and professional usage but this is not necessarily the norm in other countries and it depends upon the context. I am usually introduced as Dr, have it on my business cards etc but I use my first name in most social situations unless the other person choses to use an honourific and then I do too. And this crap that medical doctors put out about their being the better qualification, is crazy. PhD’s are up to 7 years in length and I had to prove an original contribution to the global body of knowledge. Medical doctors don’t.

  • Rebecca

    When I was a little girl, I was talking to my father about the difference between PhDs and MDs, since they are both doctors. He explained that my uncle, the college professor, was a PhD. I asked why he didn’t call himself “Dr.” and my father said that my uncle was too modest and down to earth to use the title. As someone embarking on her own journey toward PhD-dom, I’ve kept that comment with me all these years and hope to emulate my uncle’s unpretentious attitude. Not using the title “Doctor” in every day life doesn’t devalue anyone’s accomplishments or education.

  • Fah Queue

    I’m on my way to a PhD and I don’t plan on requiring people to address me by that title. I wonder if my generation is less likely to actually “use” their Dr title. Dr or not, the title doesn’t define me.

  • http://www.twinxlbedding.com Twin XL

    Excellent post- very well said!

  • Kevin

    Yes, I agree. One of my personal pet peeves is whenever someone is completely comfortable addressing you by your first name and expects to be addressed formally by you. When you address someone else informally, you give implied permission for the to reciprocate. We do not live in a caste system, I reject attempts at social stratification. If someone has an advanced degree, I properly defer to their learning in relevant discussions, but refuse to wholly subordinate myself to them. Often, I find that I’m more educated on random topics not associated with their field of expertise.

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  • Potatoes

    Wow, PhDs can take up to 7 years?
    Sounds like an easy ride. I’ve got another 15 years before I can smell that title.

  • Patrick C

    Haha, we in Norway find this really funny. Not in a disrespectful way, but here we have no titles at all, and teachers, doctors, scientists are all adressed by their front name.

    In school we address our teachers by their front name.

    Its all culture differences, but I could never have it any other way. You deserve no more respect from me as a Person because you have a Phd, than if you are working in a grocery store.

    But in the line of work related to the title, of course

  • KD MD

    A physician can call him/herself "Doctor" outside of professional situations because our titles have meaning outside of our professional atmosphere. When someone gets on the overhead of a plane and states "if there is a doctor on board, please press your call light" it seems that only the medical doctors should be pressing a call light. In order to insist that someone call you "Doctor" in all situations, you should be ready to be a doctor :)
    Also in response to the individual who posted that physicians do not have as many years of education, we all spend at least 4 years in college, followed by 4 years of medical school, followed by 3-7 years of residency, followed by optional fellowship, followed by mandated continuing education hours for the rest of our lives until we retire.

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  • Louis

    I could not agree with you more, JCMasterpiece. Although, I do agree with Dr. Carden to some respect, I have to say that you make good points. Moreover, you are right. Doctor is a title of respect. The title is earned. When one fails to address them as such, it devalues their respect. I hold a Ph.D. in psychology. Whenever, I go into the office, the secretary addresses me as Dr. Teller. She knows as does my clients that they can call me Louis. However, she once said that she addresses me as such because I earned it. People do not always realize that if they knowingly address a doctor as Mr. or Mrs. or Ms. for that matter, it is offensive because you are disrespecting that individual’s title. It is wrong or poor manners to address a doctor as Ms. Mrs., or Mr. 

    • Kevin

      I disagree with this.  You have worked hard, you should be proud of it, but you are not automatically entitled to a higher level of respect than is granted to “common people”.  Your secretary should not address you as Dr. when you address her by her first name, and neither should your patients.  Addressing someone with an honorific is an indication of formality (with Dr. replacing the Mr. or Mrs.), not subordination.  If my physician expects to be addressed formally, then he or she shouldn’t greet me informally.  While some doctors may not consciously think of it as such, this sets up an unequal relationship, which is both counterproductive and ethically reprehensible.  

      This is where the erosion of respect begins.  Parents do not “respect” their children, but insist upon respect themselves.  Doctors do not “respect” their patients but insist upon respect themselves.  Well, news flash, respect is ALWAYS mutual, even if your relationship with someone is dominant/subordinate (such as in work or a parent/child relationship), and it is a very, very strong indication of narcissistic hubris to expect higher respect and formality from others than you grant them.    

      • Lteller

        Kevin, perhaps, you never earned a doctorate. I made it clear to my secretary that she can call me by my first name. It is her choice to address me as Dr. My clients and I mean clients, call me by my first name. I tell them that they can. If they are more comfortable, calling me Dr. that is their choice. Okay, so when you were a kid, did you expect to call your teachers by their first names or to this day, your parents by their first names? Yes, I agree that respect is earned and not automatically given. Nevertheless, people seem to think doctors regardless of whether they are physicians or Ph.D.s , etc. are arrogant when they use their title. It took me 12 and a half years! I am an autistic man and I did it, but I am not vain about it! I DO NOT HAVE A SENSE OF ENTITLEMENT, so please don’t get on me. I am telling you as it is. If you disagree with it, that’s fine. 

  • Louis

    That’s not true, Patrick. Ph.D.s are addressed as Doctor too. They should NOT be addressed as Ms., Mr. or Mrs. You might not be aware that the word Doctor means teacher and NOT healer. Initially, the title was bestowed upon those who achieved the highest in their fields of study, i.e., the Ph.D. Only later on, were physicians allowed to adopt the title of Doctor.

  • Dr. P.

    The correct request for a physician is: “is there a physician on board”.  Using “doctor” to only refer to the medical side is sloppy, lazy, commoner, slang, bastardization of the English language and of the true meaning of the word doctor.  Doctor means “teacher”. 

  • Dr. P.

    A Ph.D. has a legal right to the title Doctor.

  • Dr. P.

    Doctors have students.  Physicians have patients.  Actually, the first definition of doctor includes teachers, theologians, university PhDs, etc and the second definition includes medicine man and licensed physician or veterinarian.  The third definition of doctor is what Enron did to their accounting books!    

  • Prof

    Interesting discussion. I earned a PhD degree in a clinical discipline from an well-known medical school. I went on to earn exam-based fellowships in two different clinical disciplines (in the same fellowship program as MDs). In time I became Chairman of an academic/clinical (hospital bed assignments) department in a Faculty of Medicine as well as de facto Director of the main clinical reference laboratory for a very large region. As well, I was commissioned as a BGen and appointed as a medical advisor to an important military initiative. I have taught medical students and residents for many years. My students, colleagues and friends call me by my first name, Doc “first name” or Prof “first name”. During an interview with a major national newspaper, I was told that they could not refer to me as Dr as I I had no qualification in the health-care field!

    • Louis

      Hi Prof, that was extremely rude and disrespectful and ignorant of the newspaper staff. As I explained in another 
      posting, many people simply are not aware that the term, “Doctor” means teacher and not healer. The bottom line is that you have every right to be called doctor regardless of what your field of study is. This is why I like to educate people about this. 

  • nobody

    What you should be respecting is not the individual, but rather the value of education and the idea that furthering human knowledge has value.  Sadly, we do not respect these things in US culture.  We tend to respect only that which has a market value, and ignore that which has an intrinsic value to human societies.  It’s true, demanding to be addressed by title seems pompous and silly, but the truth is that Ph.D.s have earned it because they dedicated themselves to the idea of making a contribution for its own sake, and for everyone’s sake. It is truly sad that not only do most people not respect this, they don’t even recognize or understand it.

  • Recent Graduate

    Defending my dissertation and completing my doctorate in education and leadership (EdD) gave me great satisfaction and certainly gave me a sense of pride in my accomplishments of developing an original work of scientific research, presenting and defending it, and consequently, contributing to a body of knowledge that is now available for all who might benefit from it.  I certainly feel that I have earned the title of doctor– after all those countless hours and weekends spent up to my eye-balls in development, research and writing. Sure, it feels great when someone recognizes my efforts and calls me “doctor”. I am humbled by the individuals who go out of their way to show me this level of respect. From what I’ve read, only 20% of doctoral (PhD’s/EdD’s) students complete their doctoral degrees anyway–not any easy achievement, by any standard.

  • Christopher

    Modesty is great, and I’m all for it. But there is more going on in the use of such titles than stroking someone’s ego. Titles honor a position and reflect a set of societal values and expectations associated with that position. Finishing seminary entitles you to be called “reverend”– and comes with the expectation that you live up to the title! Our society is becoming more and more dismissive of the importance of education, knowledge and expertise and the intrinsic value in pursuing them. I think the changing pattern in how people use “Dr” reflects that. Instead, we increasingly identify social value with wealth and profit, which is a big part of the reason why people are more inclined to use the title for MDs. That, along with wishful thinking that our physicians possess some special competence that everyone else lacks. People are more inclined to idolize CEOs than Nobel laureates for the same reason.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_JDSRMBMEY5ZRTDWC53G2LTBYB4 Giles

    I think your on to something here, a title should be context specific, a PhD does not confer ultimate knowledge for all situations, just a high level of knowledge, usually on a very small area. The title is very important when operating in that area, especially when teaching. Outside of that area, we are all equal so a little modesty is perfect. However, something that really gets my goat is when medical doctors take up politics and use the “Dr.”, sure this relates to level of clinical knowledge and standing, not somehow making them better at politics.

    • Anonymous

      I too spent countless hours getting my degree. I am a Pediatric Dentist. In the office, while treating a child, the child referred to me as Dr. so and so…. The mom corrected the child and told the child I am not a doctor but rather a dentist and should be called Dentist so and so… At first i just smiled. After the appointment I told the child in front of the mother that she was right. You don’t call your GP, physician so and so…. Dr. is a general term… Geez…perhaps it isn’t the Doctors with the insecurity, but rather the person is too insecure to call someone Dr…. I get ppl. calling me Mr. all the time. Yes, i have the right to be called Dr.   I pick and chose my battles when to correct someone. If a person feels it is appropriate to use formalities and call you Mr., then certainly on this formal basis Dr. is even more appropriate.
       
      So and So, DMD

  • Anonymous

    I work in Academia and it is very common to address someone as “Dr” if they posses a doctoral degree. Amongst friends and family, I will prefer to be called by my first name, but amongst colleagues, and in the workplace (especially if I am responsible for employees, hold a position of responsibility, and an executive position) I prefer to be addressed as “Dr”.

    In addition, in the workplace, I address all my colleagues that have a doctoral degree as “Dr”, however some have said, “Please call me by my first name.” Now I call them by their first name, but others have not said anything and therefore, it must not bother them to be called “Dr”- they have clearly earned it (hopefully :)

    I don’t have a doctorate degree yet, but I do have two graduate degrees in public administration and human resources management. If you earn your doctoral degree, then you have the right to be called “Dr”. My colleagues also intend to be older than me and and out of respect and recognition for them, and their hard work, they should be addressed as “Dr”.

    Lastly, the ones that have an issue with addressing another person as “Dr” (when they clearly earned it and deserve it) are more than likely those that do not have a doctorate degree and therefore, they do not see the value in it or recognition.