Platonic epistemology holds that knowledge is innate, so that learning is the development of ideas buried deep in the soul, often under the mid-wife-like guidance of an interrogator. Plato believed that each soul existed before birth with "The Form of the Good" and a perfect knowledge of everything. Thus, when something is "learned" it is actually just "recalled."
Plato drew a sharp distinction between knowledge, which is certain, and mere opinion, which is not certain. Opinions derive from the shifting world of sensation; knowledge derives from the world of timeless forms, or essences. In the Republic, these concepts were illustrated using the metaphor of the sun, the divided line, and the allegory of the cave.

Platonic doctrine of recollection

For more details on this topic, see Plato's metaphor of the sun. Metaphor of the sun

For more details on this topic, see Plato's divided line. An example: love and wisdom

Plato's metaphor of the sun
Plato's divided line
Plato's allegory of the cave
Platonism