--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: having a Ph.D. and working in a…" description: "\"“having a Ph.D. and working in a university is neither necessary nor certainly sufficient to provide one with unquestionable authority, no matter what ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea2/massimo-pigliucci-18479_university_having-a-ph-d-and-working-in-a-universit_2698730.png" --- # having a Ph.D. and working in a university is neither… ![“having a Ph.D. and working in a university is neither necessary nor certainly sufficient to provide one with unquestionable authority, no matter what the subject.” quote by Massimo Pigliucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea2/massimo-pigliucci-18479_university_having-a-ph-d-and-working-in-a-universit_2698730.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea2/massimo-pigliucci-18479_university_having-a-ph-d-and-working-in-a-universit_2698730.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea2/massimo-pigliucci-18479_university_having-a-ph-d-and-working-in-a-universit_2698730.png) > ““having a Ph.D. and working in a university is neither necessary nor certainly sufficient to provide one with unquestionable authority, no matter what the subject.”” [Massimo Pigliucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/massimo-pigliucci/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A Ph.D. and university position do not guarantee unquestionable authority. **In simple terms:** Degrees don’t ensure absolute authority. Key Takeaway Question expertise beyond credentials. Themes authority education expertise skepticism Mood critical analytical Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - academic debates - policy advising - public speaking - media commentary - science communication Key Concepts philosophy epistemology institutional critique Questions to Reflect On - How do you assess authority without titles? - When is expertise more valuable than formal education? A Different Perspective Credentials can still heavily influence perception. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [University](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/university/) ## Related quotes > [“meaning and authority. For no matter what our will says, we can always make it say something else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/meaning-and-authority-for-no-matter-what-our-will-says-we-can-always/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [Leadership is not a matter of authority, it is a matter of influence. A true leader teaches others to understand more, motivates them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-josephson/leadership-is-not-a-matter-of-authority-it-is-a-matter-of-influence-a/) [Michael Josephson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-josephson/) > [Personally, I liked working for the university. They gave us money and facilities. We didn't have to produce anything. You've never been out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-aykroyd/personally-i-liked-working-for-the-university-they-gave-us-money-and/) [Dan Aykroyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-aykroyd/) > [I'm a part-time student, and I plan to finish my degree. 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Rhodes > [In a personal way, to do with family and the father-son relationship, in a kind of artistic way with regard to him being an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-serkis/in-a-personal-way-to-do-with-family-and-the-father-son-relationship/) [Andy Serkis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-serkis/) > [Well, you can certainly teach free-throwing. And you can teach the boys to pass at angles and run in curves. - University of Kansas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darryl-dawkins/well-you-can-certainly-teach-free-throwing-and-you-can-teach-the-boys/) [Darryl Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darryl-dawkins/) > [The library is…a university of the people, from which the students are never graduated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-sharp/the-library-is-a-university-of-the-people-from-which-the-students-are/) Katharine Sharp > [I hadn't been to drama school. I hadn't been to university and acted there. I had no qualifications behind me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-jason/i-hadn-t-been-to-drama-school-i-hadn-t-been-to-university-and-acted/) [David Jason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-jason/) > [I was born in Cuba. At the age of 14 years of age I was involved in a revolution. We were suffering from a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/i-was-born-in-cuba-at-the-age-of-14-years-of-age-i-was-involved-in-a/) [Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/) > [Plant flowers in others' gardens and your life becomes a bouquet! Submitted by Lisa Letto, Coordinator, Nutrition Resource and Volunteer Centre, College of Pharmacy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/plant-flowers-in-others-gardens-and-your-life-becomes-a-bouquet/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [When I was a sophomore at USC, I was a socialist, pretty much to the left. But not when I left the university. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne/when-i-was-a-sophomore-at-usc-i-was-a-socialist-pretty-much-to-the/) [John Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne/) > [Columbia University, where I went to study in 1993, insisted its undergraduates learn a foreign language, so I discovered French.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/columbia-university-where-i-went-to-study-in-1993-insisted-its/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [I gave my archive to Emory University because there's a really dear friend who teaches there, Rudolph Byrd, and he's the editor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-gave-my-archive-to-emory-university-because-there-s-a-really-dear/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) ## More by Massimo Pigliucci > [Death itself is a natural occurrence, it is unavoidable, and the Stoics thought that part of philosophical practice is to get comfortable with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/massimo-pigliucci/death-itself-is-a-natural-occurrence-it-is-unavoidable-and-the-stoics/) [Massimo Pigliucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/massimo-pigliucci/) > [If a theory purports to explain everything, then it is likely not explaining much at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/massimo-pigliucci/if-a-theory-purports-to-explain-everything-then-it-is-likely-not/) [Massimo Pigliucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/massimo-pigliucci/) > [“The many-worlds theory basically maintains that the reason quantum mechanics seems so strange is because we have access to only one of an infinite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/massimo-pigliucci/the-many-worlds-theory-basically-maintains-that-the-reason-quantum/) [Massimo Pigliucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/massimo-pigliucci/) > [“as astronomer Carl Sagan once aptly put it, you do not want to keep your mind so open that your brain is likely to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/massimo-pigliucci/as-astronomer-carl-sagan-once-aptly-put-it-you-do-not-want-to-keep/) [Massimo Pigliucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/massimo-pigliucci/) > [Given the power and influence that science increasingly has in our daily lives, it is important that we as citizens of an open and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/massimo-pigliucci/given-the-power-and-influence-that-science-increasingly-has-in-our/) [Massimo Pigliucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/massimo-pigliucci/) > [I believe Stoicism can help anyone who takes it seriously and begins to practice it. It will help them flourish because it will provide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/massimo-pigliucci/i-believe-stoicism-can-help-anyone-who-takes-it-seriously-and-begins/) [Massimo Pigliucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/massimo-pigliucci/) > [“Following the Post Modernist route, we may indeed never arrive at meaning, but not because meaning is not there... only because we are lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/massimo-pigliucci/following-the-post-modernist-route-we-may-indeed-never-arrive-at/) [Massimo Pigliucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/massimo-pigliucci/) > [I can't speak for others, but I find the fundamental idea that a life worth living is one during which one strives every day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/massimo-pigliucci/i-can-t-speak-for-others-but-i-find-the-fundamental-idea-that-a-life/) [Massimo Pigliucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/massimo-pigliucci/) > [The Stoic discipline of action, which is connected to the virtue of justice, says that we ought to treat others fairly and we should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/massimo-pigliucci/the-stoic-discipline-of-action-which-is-connected-to-the-virtue-of/) [Massimo Pigliucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/massimo-pigliucci/) > [“Or maybe, another explanation goes, we are in fact surrounded by ETs and simply don't know it, perhaps because they decided to make the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/massimo-pigliucci/or-maybe-another-explanation-goes-we-are-in-fact-surrounded-by-ets/) [Massimo Pigliucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/massimo-pigliucci/) > [“Science progresses. Ideology tends to linger unchanged, and often unquestioned.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/massimo-pigliucci/science-progresses-ideology-tends-to-linger-unchanged-and-often/) [Massimo Pigliucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/massimo-pigliucci/) > [I don't see any Stoic practice as problematic or risky, but I would advise to engage in extreme versions of the negative visualization exercise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/massimo-pigliucci/i-don-t-see-any-stoic-practice-as-problematic-or-risky-but-i-would/) [Massimo Pigliucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/massimo-pigliucci/) > [The Stoics thought that a fundamental insight into human life is that some things are up to us and others are not, the famous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/massimo-pigliucci/the-stoics-thought-that-a-fundamental-insight-into-human-life-is-that/) [Massimo Pigliucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/massimo-pigliucci/) > [... it is because one can build a compelling set of arguments - informed by science and thoroughly compatible with it - that to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/massimo-pigliucci/it-is-because-one-can-build-a-compelling-set-of-arguments-informed-by/) [Massimo Pigliucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/massimo-pigliucci/) > [“It is instructive to note that different cultures "discovered" completely different constellations in the sky, a fact that is more consistent with the idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/massimo-pigliucci/it-is-instructive-to-note-that-different-cultures-discovered/) [Massimo Pigliucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/massimo-pigliucci/) [Explore all 34 Massimo Pigliucci quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/massimo-pigliucci/) ## More University quotes > [I gave my archive to Emory University because there's a really dear friend who teaches there, Rudolph Byrd, and he's the editor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-gave-my-archive-to-emory-university-because-there-s-a-really-dear/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [Columbia University, where I went to study in 1993, insisted its undergraduates learn a foreign language, so I discovered French.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/columbia-university-where-i-went-to-study-in-1993-insisted-its/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [When I was a sophomore at USC, I was a socialist, pretty much to the left. But not when I left the university. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne/when-i-was-a-sophomore-at-usc-i-was-a-socialist-pretty-much-to-the/) [John Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne/) > [Plant flowers in others' gardens and your life becomes a bouquet! Submitted by Lisa Letto, Coordinator, Nutrition Resource and Volunteer Centre, College of Pharmacy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/plant-flowers-in-others-gardens-and-your-life-becomes-a-bouquet/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [I was born in Cuba. At the age of 14 years of age I was involved in a revolution. We were suffering from a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/i-was-born-in-cuba-at-the-age-of-14-years-of-age-i-was-involved-in-a/) [Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/) > [I hadn't been to drama school. I hadn't been to university and acted there. I had no qualifications behind me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-jason/i-hadn-t-been-to-drama-school-i-hadn-t-been-to-university-and-acted/) [David Jason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-jason/) > [The library is…a university of the people, from which the students are never graduated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-sharp/the-library-is-a-university-of-the-people-from-which-the-students-are/) Katharine Sharp > [Well, you can certainly teach free-throwing. And you can teach the boys to pass at angles and run in curves. - University of Kansas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darryl-dawkins/well-you-can-certainly-teach-free-throwing-and-you-can-teach-the-boys/) [Darryl Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darryl-dawkins/) > [In a personal way, to do with family and the father-son relationship, in a kind of artistic way with regard to him being an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-serkis/in-a-personal-way-to-do-with-family-and-the-father-son-relationship/) [Andy Serkis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-serkis/) > [Combining the experience of a seasoned university president with the analysis of a respected legal scholar, Derek Bok explores what he concludes are 'signs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-h-t-rhodes/combining-the-experience-of-a-seasoned-university-president-with-the/) Frank H. T. Rhodes > [The term 'cost shifting,' as I use it, refers to those items in a university's budget that used to be reimbursed by the federal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-term-cost-shifting-as-i-use-it-refers-to-those-items-in-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Madaming is the sort of thing that happens to you - like getting a battlefield commission or becoming the dean of women at Stanford…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-stanford/madaming-is-the-sort-of-thing-that-happens-to-you-like-getting-a/) [Sally Stanford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-stanford/) > [I have spent my entire adult life trying to make Liberty University the world-class Christian university that was envisioned at its founding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-falwell-jr/i-have-spent-my-entire-adult-life-trying-to-make-liberty-university/) [Jerry Falwell, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-falwell-jr/) > [Our family was very fond of the University of Iowa. We thought it was a good place to go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-van-allen/our-family-was-very-fond-of-the-university-of-iowa-we-thought-it-was/) [James Van Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-van-allen/) > [Illiteracy does not impede the practice of democracy, as witnessed by the success of democracy in India despite the high illiteracy rate. One doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alaa-al-aswany/illiteracy-does-not-impede-the-practice-of-democracy-as-witnessed-by/) [Alaa Al Aswany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alaa-al-aswany/) [Browse all 3,105 University quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/university/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“having a Ph.D. and working in a university is neither necessary nor certainly sufficient to provide one with unquestionable authority, no matter what the subject.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Massimo Pigliucci" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/massimo-pigliucci/having-a-ph-d-and-working-in-a-university-is-neither-necessary-nor/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "University" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/massimo-pigliucci/having-a-ph-d-and-working-in-a-university-is-neither-necessary-nor/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea2/massimo-pigliucci-18479_university_having-a-ph-d-and-working-in-a-universit_2698730.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea2/massimo-pigliucci-18479_university_having-a-ph-d-and-working-in-a-universit_2698730.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea2/massimo-pigliucci-18479_university_having-a-ph-d-and-working-in-a-universit_2698730.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“having a Ph.D. and working in a university is neither necessary nor certainly sufficient to provide one with…” — Massimo Pigliucci", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Massimo Pigliucci", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/massimo-pigliucci/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“having a Ph.D. and working in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/massimo-pigliucci/having-a-ph-d-and-working-in-a-university-is-neither-necessary-nor/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/massimo-pigliucci/having-a-ph-d-and-working-in-a-university-is-neither-necessary-nor/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```