By 'investigating from a hypothesis ' I refer to the way the geometricians frequently investigate. When they are asked, for example, as regards a given area, whether it is possible for this area to be inscribed in the form of a triangle in a given circle, they may reply: 'I don 't yet know whether this area is such as can be so inscribed. But I think that a certain hypothesis would be helpful for that purpose. I mean the following: If the given area is such that when it has been applied (as a rectangle) to the given straight line in the circle, it is deficient by a figure similar to …show more content…
80-81). Furthermore, he spoke of Hippias of Elis as a “vain man, given to arrogance and boasting” (Smith, 1951, p. 82). As he was critical of the business of others, one might suppose that the man himself would likely try to avoid such acts within his own work. This is of course unless he felt that his statements were in reality the truth rather than simple arrogance. It should be noted that Plato makes the claim in the Euthydemus as a philosopher rather than as a mathematician. This distinction is necessary as he isn 't saying that the mathematician’s results aren 't useful or important, only that they lack the ability to make use of them on a philosophical