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Why Do Colleges Give Honorary Degrees?

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Re: Why Do Colleges Give Honorary Degrees?

#41

Post by lordnacho »

It's just a way to get some press and maybe some money as well. I doubt anyone would be fooled by the title.

I went to Oxford, and the arts undergrads there can get an MA OXON 7 years after matriculation (arts courses are generally 3 years, and you don't do anything other than send in a form to get the Master's). I doubt anyone confuses it with the MEng that I got.

Using the title is a poncey thing. The last time I remember someone insisting on it was Helmut Kohl, when he got pissed off at some journalist.

Re: Why Do Colleges Give Honorary Degrees?

#42

Post by reuven »

vacri wrote: post #39
greendestiny wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stallman deserves a real doctorate no doubt about that. He shouldn't be seen as the same as someone who happened to donate enough or be famous enough, he's done so much more. He shouldn't pretend he has an honour he hasn't earned either, that's just sad.

This gets back to the OP's original point, the need for a differentiation between PhDs between "My accomplishment is name recognition" and "I have done the work, I just didn't fill out out an application form first".

I'm guessing that if Stallman were to approach most universities, and say that he wants to turn his life's work into a PhD dissertation, they would welcome him with open arms. Within months, at most, he would have the PhD.

He has decided not to do this. Thus, he shouldn't claim the title.

Re: Why Do Colleges Give Honorary Degrees?

#43

Post by stdbrouw »

reuven wrote: post #14
fiatmoney wrote: post #4

There should be a distinction between an "honorary" degree awarded because a "real" one would be superfluous (Richard Stallman, Increase Mather, etc) and those awarded because of donations or co-branding.

Stallman is a hugely influential person. He has contributed a great deal to the world of free software. And giving him an honorary degree is a great thing, demonstrating his many accomplishments. But it still really bugs me that he calls himself a PhD, and asks for the title "Dr." (And yes, I have a PhD, on which I worked for 11 years, at great cost to myself and my family. So feel free to take my comments with a gra…

On the one hand it is true that a PhD has come to stand for "successfully completed an advanced research project according to the rules of the art," but surely there is something noble about judging people on their substantive contributions to the field regardless of the path that took them there.

(No disagreement, of course, that giving an honorary degree to influential people simply to make the university look better is a somewhat repulsive concept.)

Re: Why Do Colleges Give Honorary Degrees?

#44

Post by PvsNP_ZA »

vacri wrote: post #28
reuven wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stallman is a hugely influential person. He has contributed a great deal to the world of free software. And giving him an honorary degree is a great thing, demonstrating his many accomplishments. But it still really bugs me that he calls himself a PhD, and asks for the title "Dr." (And yes, I have a PhD, on which I worked for 11 years, at great cost to myself and my family. So feel free to take my comments with a gra…

> And yes, I have a PhD, on which I worked for 11 years, at great cost to myself and my family. Stallman's work hasn't entailed great effort, long years, and costs to himself and loved ones? As you say, a PhD is more about elbow-grease than intellect, but Stallman has that in spades - not only about the philosophy he espouses, but also that he personally created so much of the GNU environment that we take for granted…

I don't think Stallman would submit his work for a PhD, mainly because one's PhD work becomes the property of the university. It's against everything he stands for.

Re: Why Do Colleges Give Honorary Degrees?

#47

Post by [deleted] »

riffraff wrote: post #36

Honorary degrees seem to follow the same pattern in Italy. Off the top of my head, I remember them being awarded to a few musicians (literature), a sportsman (Valentino Rossi, bike racer in "Communication Sciences"), tv personalities and only one that made some sense (Ronald Rivest, Computer Science). (Interestingly enough, in Italy the "Dr." honorific is used for people with a master degree, not just a doctorate as…

[deleted]

Re: Why Do Colleges Give Honorary Degrees?

#48

Post by misnome »

PvsNP_ZA wrote: post #44
vacri wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> And yes, I have a PhD, on which I worked for 11 years, at great cost to myself and my family. Stallman's work hasn't entailed great effort, long years, and costs to himself and loved ones? As you say, a PhD is more about elbow-grease than intellect, but Stallman has that in spades - not only about the philosophy he espouses, but also that he personally created so much of the GNU environment that we take for granted…

I don't think Stallman would submit his work for a PhD, mainly because one's PhD work becomes the property of the university. It's against everything he stands for.

That's the default, but usually can be negotiated with the university.

Re: Why Do Colleges Give Honorary Degrees?

#49

Post by danellis »

animefan wrote: post #17
vladmk wrote: post #15

Do you think the guy who invented college went to college? Nope. It's obviously degrees are bullshit, one day I hope people learn that.

Is this a serious comment? Do you believe that there is literally a "guy who invented college".

Yeah. John College. I'm surprised to haven't heard of him.

Re: Why Do Colleges Give Honorary Degrees?

#50

Post by spacecowboy_lon »

GabrielF00 wrote: post #38
vacri wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My favourite professor said that the only use for his 'Dr' was for getting a good seat table when making a reservation at a restaurant. It doesn't make your work or your opinions magically better, and there are plenty of clueless PhDs out there. Besides, demanding any honourific is lame - proof of this is in the honorifics for politicians. :)

This discussion reminds me of an interesting story. In the South under Jim Crow, whites were very reluctant to call a black man "Mr.", which made things difficult when they had to discuss prominent people (like Booker T. Washington) who had to be addressed formally. The solution was to emphasize that person's title. "To an unfamiliar Northerner one of very interesting and somewhat amusing phases of conditions down he…

I remember reading that this is why the late James Brown insisted on being called Mr Brown.
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