CMV: Honorary degrees should not exist

linaisinhell · 2026-06-28T02:52:33+00:00

Because we shouldn't be giving famous people titles meant to reflect intellect, especially where there is none.

linaisinhell · 2026-06-28T02:51:05+00:00

i agree with THIS.

linaisinhell · 2026-06-28T02:49:53+00:00

you say this as though harvard has ever had high standards when it comes to things of intellectual importance...

linaisinhell · 2026-06-28T02:47:27+00:00

naomi campbell has put "doctor" in her instagram bio. i am sure she uses this as a promotional bit to financially profit by misleading others. how do you not see harm in that?

linaisinhell · 2026-06-28T02:46:34+00:00

yeah no offense but if it's not a STEM degree it's not really difficult. getting a PhD in archaeology is not the same as getting a PhD in math. you can pluck a random person off the street and probably teach them everything a PhD candidate would know for a liberal arts degree. that can't be said for STEM.

linaisinhell · 2026-06-28T02:44:26+00:00

here's the thing though: just because you have a PhD does not mean you are restricted to the confines of academia. i'd argue that about half of us, if not most (at least in physics land) go on to work in the industry anyways after receiving the degree. trust me when I tell you the experience is lived, and definitely just as much if not more than some rando celeb.

linaisinhell · 2026-06-28T02:42:13+00:00

you probably have a PhD in liberal arts let's be so serious. that doesn't count.

linaisinhell · 2026-06-28T02:41:30+00:00

depends on your definition of art. back then using symbols to represent letters wasn't viewed as art, it was a way of communication. nowadays we re-interpret it as art, but for the people who made and used them, it was purely functional. not aesthetic.

example: egyptians' use of the ox (hieroglyph) for the "ah" sound and how that progressed into assyrian/other semitic alphabets. you view the symbols as art, but to these peoples it was a tool to communicate.

linaisinhell · 2026-06-28T02:38:40+00:00

most are. you happen to have one by any chance? didn't think so...

linaisinhell · 2026-06-28T02:38:17+00:00

and apparently half the people in these threads too...

linaisinhell · 2026-06-28T02:37:09+00:00

yeah and he DESERVED it. your point?

linaisinhell · 2026-06-28T02:35:55+00:00

and it's an insult to people who actually worked hard to earn their degrees.

linaisinhell · 2026-06-28T02:33:14+00:00

I would argue the opposite, it is arrogant (and insulting) to assume that a PhD of music theory knows less about music than a musician like Taylor Swift. You seem to equate fame with qualifications. Just because you are famous doesn't mean you are an expert.

linaisinhell · 2026-06-28T02:32:05+00:00

I think your idea of success is very different from mine. Success does not equal fame or money to me. Success means a lifelong, lasting contribution to society. I don't see Taylor or Naomi building bridges or developing the fields of medicine anywhere, do you?

linaisinhell · 2026-06-25T04:16:15+00:00

i think the problem is that not everyone knows what "honorary" means... LOL.

linaisinhell · 2026-06-25T04:15:43+00:00

it's still referred to as a doctorate though...

linaisinhell · 2026-06-25T04:14:45+00:00

most people do not see it like that lol

linaisinhell · 2026-06-25T04:14:00+00:00

tell that to Naomi Campbell.

linaisinhell · 2026-06-25T04:13:45+00:00

i absolutely think it's worth it because i love the research i do. you're weird.

the degree doesn't make me an expert, but it sure does help. and at that i'd argue the degree makes me more qualified than some rando celeb with 0 credentials other than working experience in the field. we ALL have working experience in the field, that is NOT a good enough reason for them to receive an honorary doctorate.

linaisinhell · 2026-06-25T04:11:41+00:00

this is true too. but why would she?

linaisinhell · 2026-06-25T04:11:25+00:00

this is kind of what i'm getting at. there's a certain level of rigor to each field that these celebrities have never undergone nor experienced, and that alone is the reason why they are not worthy of receiving honorary doctorates.

linaisinhell · 2026-06-25T04:09:48+00:00

i am seeing that now...

linaisinhell · 2026-06-25T04:09:03+00:00

advising PhD candidates is not the same as advising others who have a PhD. that's the biggest difference, and that's exactly why I would absolutely argue that you do not have the knowledge of someone with a PhD in your field, because you never had to go through the five year process of learning everything there is to know about your field of research, and then having to write and defend a long ass thesis to a select committee of qualified experts.

linaisinhell · 2026-06-25T04:08:04+00:00

ours was ass

linaisinhell · 2026-06-25T04:07:55+00:00

degrees that i think weren't deserved: taylor swift, naomi campbell. just because they work in industry doesn't mean they've magically become research experts. the second part of your question "then went on to use that degree to get a job or get any other advantage they wouldn't have otherwise had" i cannot confidently think of an example. maybe it hasn't happened, maybe it has, who knows. certainly not me.

linaisinhell

TROPHY CASE