| Abstract: | One may well add to the excellent letter of Sidney J. Fields in the last issue a few further considerations, in large part anthropological, that help to provide perspective. As a glance at the encyclopedic Oxford Dictionary will show, the title doctor historically originated in medieval Europe with the theologian--the doctor of divinity. The doctor of philosophy is, of course, an offshoot of the same stalk and in the days of medieval learning, before the heyday of modern science, even the doctor of medicine was expected to write a learned thesis. In some European universities this practice still prevails. The generic doctor is, after all, the man of learning who teaches (doceo in Latin is teach), and not only are there many kinds of professional doctors, but there are many varieties of scientific ones--in physiology, chemistry, linguistics, psychology, etc. Goethe's Dr. Faust preferred to be known not as a doctor of theology but as a doctor of medicine. Is it generally known that in England the surgeon (F.R.C.S.) is regularly called Mister? The general practitioner ordinarily does not have an MD degree and is addressed as Doctor by courtesy only. Not to be overlooked is the studied manner in which the American academic "Doctor," reacting perhaps against the Central European proliferation of titles (Herr Prof. Dr. Jones), modestly calls himself "Mister." To the argument that in case of emergency the wrong "Doctor" might be enlisted for help--to his embarrassment, let alone that of the victim--there is the obvious answer that in these days of widespread first aid training, the advisable appeal is not just for a physician but for anyone versed in appropriate measures. If all professional groups would agree to do without the title Doctor and, like the citizens of the French Revolution, be satisfied with the simple Mister, all would be well; or, if it is too late--or too early--for this recommendation, the alternative is to allow the title to anyone with the appropriate academic degree. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
