the Ionian physiologistsThinkers

Physis (n.) belongs ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠to no single being but to the primordial stuff, which carves individuals out of itself; a particular being has no growth of its own, only a share in the world's.

The Principium individuationis (n.) cannot ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠be sought in matter for the first Greek physicists; it comes before the individual and lingers in it as a drive to grow.