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October 5[edit]

Doktor or Arzt for fictional doctors or scientists[edit]

Since I've heard both words used rather interchangeably in German dubs of fictional works (by that I mean mostly cartoons) to address a mad scientist-type of character, I'd like to present an example:

Say there's a doctor who is an expert in the medical field, like he's very familiar with anatomy and can perform surgery. This character is also very experienced in the field of cybernetics and works with advanced experimental technology. He claims to be able to save patients from mortal injuries, lethal illnesses, or otherwise the brink of death, but the method in which he does so usually involves replacing the affected body parts or organs with cybernetics or science-fiction machinery. In extreme cases, he may strip the muscle and bones of a patients body and replace them all with a robot body that is still powered by the patient's nervous system. In a sense, the character does save his patients from death, but at the cost of losing some of their humanity, I guess.

In actual spoken German, what would be the more proper way to address this kind of character? I am aware that unlike the English doctor, which can refer to any learned individual of a scientific field regardless if the person has any medical knowledge, the German language makes a clear distinct difference between Doktor and Arzt, the usual context being that Doktor refers generally to a scientific professor, especially one with a high academic standing or postgraduate education, while Arzt specifically refers to medical practitioners, such as surgeons or physicians, regardless of their educational standing. --72.234.12.37 (talk) 05:13, 5 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

In German, Arzt is not used as a form of address.^[1]. One would address a medical professional as Herr Doktor or Frau Doktor(in).^[2] Colloquially, a medical doctor may be referred to as a Doktor,^[3] but more recently the unambiguous Arzt has gained also colloquial dominance.^[4] --Lambiam 05:56, 5 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

And as an academic distinction, Doktor is the title corresponding to the doctoral degree, the highest attainable academic degree, conferred upon the successful defense of a dissertation. Virtually all German professors are a Doktor, but many Doktoren are not professors. --Lambiam 06:08, 5 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

And not every "Arzt" does a doctoral degree, medically practicing even though. --87.147.178.162 (talk) 14:30, 5 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

In fact, just like physicians in the US, most don't. It is not a requirement for obtaining a medical license. --Lambiam 21:29, 5 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

I maybe wrong, but as far as I know, most do. It's not a requirement, but the "Dr. med." (roughly equivalent to an MD) is notoriously easy to get, and many patients expect the doctor to be a doctor ;-). --Stephan Schulz (talk) 21:17, 12 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]