The WSJ Opinion piece, written by Joseph Epstein, commenting on who's a "real" doctor - a physician vs someone who holds an Ed.D (Doctor of Education) has caused some stir. This has centered around Jill Biden, wife of politician Joe Biden (D - Delaware). Conservative pundit Ben Shapiro also broadcasted his thoughts on the matter on his Youtube channel. Both conclude that Jill Biden has no right to use Dr. in front of her name let alone be called "doctor" in the public square.
They're both wrong.
In the States the term "doctor" is often referred to a physician, or a medical doctor. The history of how this came to be is somewhat interesting. To make a long story short physicians in Scotland asked PhD holders, the original "doctors," if they can use the honorific title in their everyday language to refer to practitioners in their own field to bolster their prestige in the public eye. An agreement was met and that honorific title became synonymous with a physician alongside the prestige that was wanted. This carried over to the New World.
The etymology of the word also does not lend itself to Epstein and Shapiro's daft and elitist rantings. The word "doctor" means to teach. It also means a "learned person." In the medieval times subjects that were open to study were immensely limited. Theology was the main subject matter and the advanced degrees conferred are today's ancestors of what is now known as the PhD, or Doctor of Philosophy. For those that are religious or are religious literate the phrase Doctor of the Church will ring a bell. This phrase refers to theologians, mainly Catholic, who have contributed immensely to the body of knowledge that have advanced theology and philosophy.
A PhD is mainly used as a research to degree and many who are able to finish their doctorate are employed by the university/college system as professors or lecturers. They are expected to contribute to their chosen speciality in form of publications (enter the "publish or die" mentality in order become tenured). All PhDs require a dissertation that require an oral defense. This differs from professional doctorate degrees in the States (e.g. JD, MD/DO) where no dissertation is required leaving no oral defense to be had. Professional doctorates are, truly, vocational tracks, especially the older professional doctorates (MD, JD). An Ed.D is a fairly new kind of professional doctorate, sort of like the DSW (Doctor of Social Work) or PsyD (Doctor of Psychology). You may have seen a subtle difference between the PhD and these professional degrees in the name itself. There is no "Doctor of Philosophy." An MD is Doctor of Medicine, not Doctor of Philosophy in Medicine.
On a more grounded and modern level, technically anyone with a doctorate degree can be referred as a doctor in public. Unless a physician is needed such people are doing no wrong in asking to be called doctor. The term doctor was not given to the profession by the layman or some governing body because they came to the realization that physicians were immensely smart and that their services were critical to the human race. None of that happened; no such thinking was entertained. It was simply asked for by physicians themselves to bolster their reputation, and given there were more physicians than academics interacting with the public, the public started to associate the word with the profession. A smart marketing move by Scottish physicians one might say. It has paid dividends.
And remember: not until the turn of the 20th century did medical research, procedures and equipment start to advance rapidly into what would be today's world of medicine. Institutions for formal medical training were sparse and knowledge was infantile. Surgeons were seen as inferior to that of what is now considered the family physician (primary care); surgeons were sometimes not seen as physicians but as a vocational track, like brick layering or that of a blacksmith. Quack doctors were abound prescribing moonshine to ailments and cures for deadly viruses.
So is Jill Biden a "real" doctor? Yes. The layman must educate himself, or even re-educate himself on the matter. Unless a non-medical doctor tries to pose as a physician, wishing to have all the positive stigmas that being a physician entails in modern times, then there should be zero issue. For those that do - don't do that. Stop it. Be secure in your degree and speciality, add to the body of knowledge, be a pioneer, be a competent practitioner and scholar.
Dr. Jill Biden, I hope that you do not mind the fact that your honorific title was used as an example to spread proper knowledge and to shed ignorance of whom can be called a doctor and whom cannot.
