Dioscorides (Stoic)

Dioscorides was a Stoic philosopher active sometime during the 1st or 2nd century CE. Very little is known about him beyond the fact that he is mentioned by several later authors as an authority on Stoic ethics and logic. He is cited in particular in connection to discussions of preferred indifferents (things that are neither virtuous nor vicious, but which are naturally preferred by humans, such as health or wealth).

Specifically, Dioscorides is noted for his views on the selection of preferred indifferents. While Stoics believed that virtue was the only true good and vice the only true evil, they acknowledged that some things were more in accordance with nature and therefore preferred. Dioscorides apparently emphasized the importance of rational selection in this process, arguing that one should choose preferred indifferents not merely out of instinct or desire, but with careful consideration of their value and contribution to a virtuous life. This perspective aimed to avoid being unduly attached to these external advantages, maintaining the Stoic ideal of emotional tranquility and detachment from externals.

His influence seems to have been primarily through his writings, which unfortunately have not survived. Our knowledge of his teachings is gleaned from the fragments and mentions in the works of later Stoics and commentators, making a complete reconstruction of his philosophical system difficult.