Plato on geometrical hypothesis in the \textit{Meno} (Q904225)

Based on Cook Wilson's interpretation of the second geometrical problem in Plato's \textit{Meno} (in 86e4-87b2), the author argues that ``the geometrical hypothesis in question is a tentative answer to a more basic problem, which could not be solved'' by methods available at that time (as it involved a hyperbola and its intersection(s) with a circle). An analogous reduction to a problem with unknown solution is encountered in the duplication of the cube, with its reduction to the problem of finding two mean proportionals between two given lines. Connections with the method of analysis and the reason for the absence of a diorism are discussed in detail.