The Republic
             In "The Allegory of the Cave," contained in book VII of The Republic, Plato tells his views on truth. He makes us aware of the fact that to have knowledge, you have to be aware of all around you. To one man in the allegory, truth was based on shadows, for that was all he knew.
             The man in "The Allegory of the Cave" had been stood facing a wall with a fire behind him so all he could see were the shadows on the wall; to him, this was truth. He lived as fully as he was able, given his circumstances, and recognized shapes and sounds to be the actual things they represented. To him, two hands were a horse and one hand a dog. Yet, those are not actually what they are. He was being truthful to his knowledge, when saying so.
             Part of the way through "The Allegory," the man was turned around to see the fire and the people behind him casting the shadows on the wall for the others to see. He then realized that his notions of horses and dogs were all illusions, but this new knowledge was all very hard for him to accept and believe. Yet, he still had illusions by then thinking that horses and dogs did not really exist, but that they were, in reality, nothing more than hands and fire.
             At the end of "The Allegory," the man had yet more of the real world revealed to him. He was led out of the cave to see the sun and trees. He then realized that yes, the cave is reality, but not exclusive reality. He again was not being untruthful when he thought fire was the only source of light; he just did not have the resources to know otherwise.
             It is unfair to ask someone to tell the truth, and when they give the truth as known to them, penalizing them for their perception. Truth is very important, but you can only ask of someone what they are capable of giving. Plato does not expect anyone to always be completely honest, because not eve...