Plato's Use of Geometric Analysis in the <i>Meno</i>

This article examines Socrates’ use of the hypothetical method in the Meno in light of the mathematical background he alludes to – namely, the geometric method of analysis and synthesis. Where most interpreters either focus on the geometric example (without discussing its philosophical application), or on the argument about the teachability of virtue (without discussing the geometry), this article urges that the former should inform our understanding of the latter. In particular, it argues that geometric analysis illuminates some fundamental features of Plato’s philosophical approach which might be otherwise overlooked.