1993f.02881 Mackenzie, J. How proofs began. Function 17, No. 1, 18-23 (1993). 1993 Monash University, Department of Mathematics, Clayton, VIC EN A30 Der Autor eroertert die von Plato ueberlieferte Unterhaltung zwischen Sokrates und Meno unter dem Blickwinkel des Beweisens und seiner Bedeutung. The author takes a look at how the notion of a proof could have arisen, and at what its importance would have been in Greek society, by examining the conversation Socrates had with Meno, as reported by Plato.