Dr. Janet Smith blasts AFP for 'inaccurate' contraception article [CNA]

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Based upon my experience -

When dealing with the media, always give them short, concise, understandable written materials that they can “quote”.

If its possible for them to make a mistake (accidentally or on purpose) they will.
 
I ask this question quite often, but I am yet to find an answer for it: what does Janet Smith hold her PhD in?
 
I ask this question quite often, but I am yet to find an answer for it: what does Janet Smith hold her PhD in?
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Really? I googled “Dr. Janet Smith” and the very first link given tells me the answer. She even has her own Wikipedia entry.
Chair of Life Ethics, Professor of Moral Theology

Janet E. Smith holds the Father Michael J. McGivney Chair of Life Ethics at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit.

She is the author of Humanae Vitae: A Generation Later, editor of Why Humanae Vitae Was Right: A Reader. She has coauthored Life Issues, Medical Choices, Questions and Answers for Catholics, with Chris Kaczor. She has a new book Right to Privacy, published by Ignatius Press.

She speaks nationally and internationally on the Catholic teachings on sexuality and on bioethics and has published numerous articles on sexuality and bioethics.

She has appeared on the Geraldo show, Fox Morning News, CNN International, CNN Newsroom and has done many shows for various series on EWTN.
 
buffalo said:
Would it matter to you?
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Yes, its an issue of credability. Her faculty page doesn’t list what any of her degrees are in. If she’s going to hold herself up as a theological writer and at times as knowledgable about science and sociology then I’d like to know what her education is…
 
NewEnglandPries said:
Yes, its an issue of credability. Her faculty page doesn’t list what any of her degrees are in. If she’s going to hold herself up as a theological writer and at times as knowledgable about science and sociology then I’d like to know what her education is…
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Ahhhh - one has to be formally educated to have knowledge? They cannot get it another way?
 
buffalo said:
Ahhhh - one has to be formally educated to have knowledge? They cannot get it another way?
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If you want others to trust that you know what you’re talking about, then yes, it normally requires some kind of evidence of education in that area.

Not to mention its common practice in professional circles to list what your degress are in.
 
NewEnglandPries said:
If you want others to trust that you know what you’re talking about, then yes, it normally requires some kind of evidence of education in that area.

Not to mention its common practice in professional circles to list what your degress are in.
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So one cannot be correct 40 years after formal education based on personal research?
 
“I never let my schooling interfere with my education”
–Mark Twain
 
NewEnglandPries said:
If you want others to trust that you know what you’re talking about, then yes, it normally requires some kind of evidence of education in that area.

Not to mention its common practice in professional circles to list what your degress are in.
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I believe her PHD is in Philosophy. I remember she was working on something having to do with Plato when she shifted gears and started working on Humanae Vitae.

As far as listing degrees, she is not the webpage designer for Sacred Hearts webpage.
 
Religion_Ninja said:
I believe her PHD is in Philosophy. I remember she was working on something having to do with Plato when she shifted gears and started working on Humanae Vitae.
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So where is that stated in any of her bios?
As far as listing degrees, she is not the webpage designer for Sacred Hearts webpage.
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I didn’t say that she was, its just strange that her CV on practically every website I can find only mentions what’s she’s written and never mentions what any of her degrees are in.
 
NewEnglandPries said:
So where is that stated in any of her bios?

I didn’t say that she was, its just strange that her CV on practically every website I can find only mentions what’s she’s written and never mentions what any of her degrees are in.
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Perhaps she feels her work speaks louder than her degree ever could…
 
buffalo said:
So one cannot be correct 40 years after formal education based on personal research?
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OK, fine, I stayed at a Holiday Inn last night so I’ll now give you medical advice regarding what medications you should and shouldn’t be taking. :rolleyes:

Its common procedure to mention how your degrees are related to what you are holding yourself up as an expert in. The fact that she does not do so doesn’t mean anything is necessarily wrong but it does raise concern. As many have pointed out: we’re in a battle over this issue. If I announced to my parish that Dr. Janet Smith was coming to talk about contraception and its effect on families then the most common question I’d get would be, “What is she a doctor of?” or “How is she qualified to speak on this?”
People would want to know what her credibility in these areas is, and I wouldn’t blame them.

To have a degree is step one, and then where you have your degree from is step two in establishing credibility. Those are things that aren’t easy to get and requrie varrying difficulty of peer review and defense of dissertation.

And, yes, if your degree is from 40 years ago you do indeed have to show how you have kept up with your area over those 40 years.

These are not uncommon things. Practically everyone who gives a lecture or conference gives out their CV to everyone as a sign of their credibility and competence. For example, on Christopher West’s webpage there a link at to his CV that lists his education and credentials.
 
her name on various websites is given as Janet Smith PhD which means she is a doctor of philosophy. is this a trick question?
 
NewEnglandPries said:
OK, fine, I stayed at a Holiday Inn last night so I’ll now give you medical advice regarding what medications you should and shouldn’t be taking. :rolleyes:

Its common procedure to mention how your degrees are related to what you are holding yourself up as an expert in. The fact that she does not do so doesn’t mean anything is necessarily wrong but it does raise concern. As many have pointed out: we’re in a battle over this issue. If I announced to my parish that Dr. Janet Smith was coming to talk about contraception and its effect on families then the most common question I’d get would be, “What is she a doctor of?” or “How is she qualified to speak on this?”
People would want to know what her credibility in these areas is, and I wouldn’t blame them.

To have a degree is step one, and then where you have your degree from is step two in establishing credibility. Those are things that aren’t easy to get and requrie varrying difficulty of peer review and defense of dissertation.

And, yes, if your degree is from 40 years ago you do indeed have to show how you have kept up with your area over those 40 years.

These are not uncommon things. Practically everyone who gives a lecture or conference gives out their CV to everyone as a sign of their credibility and competence. For example, on Christopher West’s webpage there a link at to his CV that lists his education and credentials.
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If that is your criteria then so be it. I would look to her work, her research, her papers and compare. Having a degree in my mind is not enough. We should be careful not to establish a layer of elitism in the Catholic Church.

If I researched a specific area for 10 years, read every journal and peer-reviewed paper and then I put forward a thesis you would not consider it (no matter how true) because it was not delivered with letters after my name?
 
puzzleannie said:
her name on various websites is given as Janet Smith PhD which means she is a doctor of philosophy. is this a trick question?
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A PhD covers much more than you think. Yes the “P” stands for philosophy but only in the broadest sense. For example, at the University of Birmingham (UK) one can attain a PhD of Shakespeare Studies.
 
buffalo said:
If that is your criteria then so be it. I would look to her work, her research, her papers and compare. Having a degree in my mind is not enough. We should be careful not to establish a layer of elitism in the Catholic Church.
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This isn’t about elitism, its about professionalism and credibility. Its also a very curious situation given that its extremely uncommon for lecturers not to provide their educational background.
If I researched a specific area for 10 years, read every journal and peer-reviewed paper and then I put forward a thesis you would not consider it (no matter how true) because it was not delivered with letters after my name?
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If you were upfront about your educational history then I would probably consider what you had to say. However, education shows that an individual has been evaluated by others in that field and that the individual has had to justify and defend their various thesis and ideas. That’s a far cry from simply reading up on something and offering an opinion.

Like I said, she may indeed hold all the proper educational credentials. I just find it odd that its not readily available.

Let’s pretend for a moment that she’s saying the exact opposite of what you agree with. Let’s pretend that she’s a Catholic moral theologian who’s writing in favor of contraception and using theology and sociology to back up her arguments. Would you not ask even the simple question of, “What is your educational background regarding these issues?”
 
NewEnglandPries said:
This isn’t about elitism, its about professionalism and credibility. Its also a very curious situation given that its extremely uncommon for lecturers not to provide their educational background.

If you were upfront about your educational history then I would probably consider what you had to say. However, education shows that an individual has been evaluated by others in that field and that the individual has had to justify and defend their various thesis and ideas. That’s a far cry from simply reading up on something and offering an opinion.

Like I said, she may indeed hold all the proper educational credentials. I just find it odd that its not readily available.

Let’s pretend for a moment that she’s saying the exact opposite of what you agree with. Let’s pretend that she’s a Catholic moral theologian who’s writing in favor of contraception and using theology and sociology to back up her arguments. Would you not ask even the simple question of, “What is your educational background regarding these issues?”
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You are ignoring the article and points made and engaging in ad hominem argument. Feel free to refute the points she made. You can do that regardless of her credentials…or perhaps you can’t. 😉
 
NewEnglandPries said:
So where is that stated in any of her bios?

I didn’t say that she was, its just strange that her CV on practically every website I can find only mentions what’s she’s written and never mentions what any of her degrees are in.
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It is listed on the back of her books, that she was an associate professor of Philosophy at Dallas.

You can email her and ask her if you like. No its not normal for authors and professors to list what their degrees are in. They usually just give the type of degree and if they teach Philosophy…well you do the math. You act like because she has only PHD behind her name that she is somehow shady or dishonest.

So why this fascination with finding out what her PHD is in? Don’t agree with what she says so you suspect her PHD is in music or something? Just make sure you use the same strict criteria the people you agree with too–spending your afternoon researching what their majors were in so that you can continue agreeing with them.
 
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