William Duncan Silkworth (July 22, 1873 – March 22, 1951) was an American physician and specialist in the treatment of alcoholism.

1998年1月10日 · Doctor William D. Silkworth, called, “the little doctor who loved drunks”, began an indispensable contribution to Alcoholics Anonymous during the early 1930’s from his position as medical director of Charles B. Towns Hospital, 293 Central Park West (89th street), New York, N.Y. Towns, founded in 1901, was well known then as a rich man’s drying-o...

Convincing testimony must surely come from medical men who have had experience with the sufferings of our members and have witnessed our return to health. A well-known doctor, chief physician at a nationally prominent hospital specializing in alcoholic and drug addiction, gave Alcoholics Anonymous this letter:

Officially begun on December 12th, 2000, silkworth.net is now in its twentieth year and is one of the largest sites of its type in the World – a repository, archive, you might say, of Alcoholics Anonymous History and related information.

It was Dr. Silkworth who told Bill Wilson, during the summer of 1933, of the nature of alcoholism: that, in his opinion, the problem had nothing to do with vice or habit or lack of character. It was, he said, an illness with both mental and physical components.

2020年11月30日 · Today, Dr. Silkworth’s opinion has been medically proven. When someone drinks alcohol, it sets off the release of endorphins, which are the brain chemicals that bind to some receptors in the brain, causing feelings of pleasure.

Introduction William Duncan Silkworth , M.D. (1873-1951) is remembered today primarily for the authorship of the chapter “The Doctor’s Opinion” in Alcoholics Anonymous (2001) first published in 1939. A recent biography (2002) describes his life and work.

Dr. Silkworth was the writer of the letters included in the chapter, “The Doctor’s Opinion,” in the front of the Big Book. He was instrumental in viewing alcoholism as an illness, rather than a moral failing, and became one of AA’s greatest supporters.

Dr. William Duncan Silkworth died of a heart attack in his home in New York, Thursday morning, March 22. Thus we of AA have lost the physical presence of the great doctor who was our first friend.

Dr. Silkworth had a profound influence on Wilson and encouraged him to realize that alcoholism was more than just an issue of moral weakness. He introduced Wilson to the idea that alcoholism had a pathological, disease-like basis.