pre-Socratic philosopher
<p>Only fragments of the original writings of the presocratics survive (many entitled <i>Peri Physeos</i>, or <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Nature_%28disambiguation%29" class="mw-redirect mw-disambig" title="On Nature (disambiguation)">On Nature</a></i>, a title probably attributed later by other authors).<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-Socratic_philosophy#cite_note-8">[8]</a></sup> The knowledge we have of them derives from accounts - known as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doxography" title="Doxography">doxography</a> - of later philosophical writers (especially <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristotle" title="Aristotle">Aristotle</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plutarch" title="Plutarch">Plutarch</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diogenes_La%C3%ABrtius" title="Diogenes Laërtius">Diogenes Laërtius</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stobaeus" title="Stobaeus">Stobaeus</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simplicius_of_Cilicia" title="Simplicius of Cilicia">Simplicius</a>), and some early theologians (especially <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clement_of_Alexandria" title="Clement of Alexandria">Clement of Alexandria</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippolytus_of_Rome" title="Hippolytus of Rome">Hippolytus of Rome</a>).
However, the translation of <i>Peri Physeos</i> as <i>On Nature</i> may be misleading: the "on" normally gives the idea of an "erudite dissertation", while "<i><a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/peri" class="extiw" title="wiktionary:peri">peri</a></i>" may refer in fact to a "circular approach"; and the traditional meanings of "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature" title="Nature">nature</a>" for us (as opposition to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture" title="Culture">culture</a>, to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernatural" title="Supernatural">supernatural</a>, or as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essence" title="Essence">essence</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Substance_theory" title="Substance theory">substance</a>, opposed to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accident" title="Accident">accident</a>, etc.) may be in contrast with the meaning of "<i>physeos</i>" or "<i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physis" title="Physis">physis</a></i>" for the Greeks (referring to an "originary source", or "process of emergence and development").<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-Socratic_philosophy#cite_note-9">[9]</a></sup></p>