The Geometric Hypothesis of the Meno of Plato
Translation of Paul Tannery's L’hypothèse géométrique du Ménon de Platon
Keywords :
mathematics, geometryRésumé
This translation presents, for the first time in English, Paul Tannery’s 1876 essay L’hypothèse géométrique du Ménon de Platon , published in Mémoires scientifiques (vol. 3, pp. 39–45, Paris: Gauthier-Villars). Tannery, one of the most important French historians of mathematics, here attempts to clarify Plato’s obscure passage on the “geometric hypothesis” in the Meno ( Meno 86e–87a), situating it within the traditions of Euclidean geometry and the interpretation of Greek mathematical language. The translation aims to remain faithful to Tannery’s technical terminology, preserving key Greek expressions in transliteration while rendering his nineteenth-century French into clear English, thereby making accessible a critical investigation into the origins of geometry.
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(c) Copyright Scully-Robert Groome (Author) 2025

Ce travail est disponible sous licence Creative Commons Attribution - Pas d'Utilisation Commerciale - Pas de Modification 4.0 International.