The title of "father of philosophy" is most often attributed to Thales of Miletus.

Thales, who lived around 624-546 BCE, was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher, mathematician, and astronomer. He was the first to try to explain natural phenomena without relying on mythology.

Key Contributions:

• Emphasis on Rational Explanation: Instead of attributing events to the gods, Thales sought naturalistic explanations.
• Cosmology: He posited that water was the fundamental substance from which all things originated.
• Influence: Thales influenced many subsequent philosophers, including Anaximander and Anaximenes, and set the stage for Greek philosophical and scientific thought.

While other thinkers existed before Thales, his approach marked a significant shift towards rational inquiry, which is why he's often regarded as the father of Western philosophy.

More information can be found on the following sources:

• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Presocratics
• World History Encyclopedia: Thales of Miletus