... with his understanding of reality. He gave an illustration of this in his 'allegory of the cave': the majority of us are like prisoners in a cave, where shadows cast by a fire are seen projected on a wall. The prisoners in the cave think that the shadows are the full reality, all there is. Only by making the effort can one escape from the cave and discover the truth. Then one can see by the light of the sun, and realise the difference between 'illusion' and 'reality': Plato argues that this applies in our everyday existence, and that true reality (and knowledge) exists in the 'higher' spiritual realm of the Forms. The 'forms' are spiritual realities that have always existed and never change. The earthly life is only a 'shadowy' world in which everything is merely a dim reflection of these ideal forms. Thus we can only know the ...

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