docs of no competence?, no harm done?

search : jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/091299 (degree mills)

Here John Bear is quoted, "If a kindly old pastor wants to have 'Dr' on his tombstone, I don't see what harm is being done."

Bear contrasts this to those doctorates which rather "vouchsafe competency."

So, are doctorates OK which do not indicate any particular competency or are there even such degrees? Anyone care to opine?

Dr Bear, was this just a hypothetical?

 

No, what I think is meant is that no harm is done when a dead guy claims a doctorate. I agree.

 

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When a dead guy claims a doctorate? If so, after death were any effects of that doc extant as items published, impressions made, repute garnered would that be of any consequence? Seems as if the doctorate could speak from the grave with sour notes.

But yours was not my take on John's remarks there. The context seemed to consist of a contrast of those who misrepresent unaccredited docs by using them with other cases of unaccred ones innocuously claimed (kindly old pastor) in life. I suppose the kindliness (requiring life?) (also "wants" assumes living) was concurrent to the claim of a doc! In either situation , I'm confused.

Oh well, perhaps I just got it wrongly!

 

I think what John was implying, if I may, is that you can call yourself Dr. if you want, as long as you don't hold yourself up as being one for academic or employment purposes....

Sort of like the Southern Colonels.....wouldn't follow them into battle, but they aren't hurting anyone by claiming the distinction.

Personally, I always wanted to be a Knight....

Wes
er, make that Sir Wes.....

 

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Thanks Wes, I see your point. But,

I guess I feel that calling oneself "Dr" or claiming such a degree, when it is not actually held, whether or not the motive is re employment or for academic purposes, is by anyone still misleading and therefore wrong. But such especially grates against my convictions when the example given is a pastor as I feel one in such office needs to particularly be an example of honesty for his congreants to follow and to be a representation of Christian respectability to those outside the Church. If he is a liar then I don't care if he is "kindly" or not! We all have our faults and failures but claiming an unearned PhD seems one error easily avoidable. And I disagree that it really doesn't matter!

 

Why would you want to be called "Dr." unless you wished to imply something.......and if you imply something that is not...does that not set the stage for "harm," especially for those that do not know that "Dr." is not always "Dr."

 

I recall many years ago a fellow employee was a devoted fan of a basketball player he referred to as "Dr. J", but he could not answer my question "what is his doctorate in?"

 

Julius Erving got his nickname while still playing for UMass. He was playing in the Rucker tournament, a summer league played on the hardcourts of Harlem each year. The Rucker used to attract all the best NBA and college talent. Anyway, Doc was performing his usual high-wire act--something yet to emerge at UMass. The PA announcer kept trying to come up with nicknames for Julius, stuff like "the claw." Well, another of Doc's teammates was nicknamed "the lawer." So Julius goes over to the PA table and tells the guy to call him "the doctor." It stuck.

Julius Erving dropped out of UMass a year early to join the ABA's Virginia Squires, where he toiled--and dominated--in relative obscurity. His subsequent sale to Roy Boe's New York Nets paved the way for the ABA-NBA merger. Had Julius jumped successfully to the NBA--as he once tried to do with the Atlanta Hawks while still under contract in the ABA--the ABA would almost certainly have folded. As it was, the NBA was so motivated to get him and a few other ABA stars that they agreed to a merger just months before the ABA would have collapsed. But Roy Boe couldn't afford the entry fee to the NBA plus an indemnity fee to the New York Knicks for being in their geograpic territory. So he sold Julius to the 76ers for $3 million. Doc got $3 million over 5 years, making him the true "6 Million Dollar Man."

Julius Erving went on to a Hall-of-Fame career. Oh, and he went back and got his degree at UMass after retiring from basketball. By DL, no less.

(I got a Basketball Jones....)