Most of the pre-socratics were focused on cosmological and metaphysical questions, and would better be designated Nature Philosophers (or Natural Philosophers)

They were interested in offering a non-mythical account of the origin and causal processes of the natural world. They are among the first to emphasize the use of reason and observation as a vehicle to understanding the nature of reality, and their rational approach to problem solving became the foundation of the Western intellectual tradition.

Among the more famous pre-socratic philosophers are Thales of Meletos (c. 625-545 BCE), Pythagoras of Samos (c. 570-495 BCE), Heraklitos of Ephesus (c. 540-480 BCE), and Demokritos of Abdera (c. 460-370BCE).