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This study interviewed five philosophically precocious individuals (PPIs), four Chinese and one American, to examine their development. Theoretical frameworks used to evaluate data were the Transcendence Evolution Model and the taxonomy of developmental strategies. The Transcendence Evolution Model posits that children's different developmental paths are due to their different interpretations of their advantages or disadvantages. This model sees PPIs as transcending both their gifts and talents and their self-interests. The taxonomy of developmental strategies (i.e., excelling in school, developing talents, grasping the whole, and excelling in the real world) is used to describe the differences among school strivers, talent developers, all-knowers, and street learners. All-knowers overlap with PPIs as a typical PPI tries to know all and aspires to master all major disciplines, although some PPIs do not have this aspiration. The five PPIs interviewed used various combinations of developmental strategies and gave strategies different priorities. Early exposure to philosophy books was often the origin of philosophical precocity. Most of the PPIs interviewed developed philosophical thinking by reading scholarly books. Interview questions are appended. (Contains 18 references.) (DB)