Reminiscence Theory of Knowledge

Plato informed on much. He could inform on creation with his theory of forms and he could inform on the fall, redemption, and restoration using his reminiscence theory of knowledge. What interests me most about Plato, however, are his thoughts on redemption. In his reminiscence theory of knowledge he states that before the immortal soul becomes a part of the body, it is perfect in its knowledge and it lived in the realm of the true forms. However, when it became a part of the body and started to receive sensory experiences from the body, those experiences tainted the pure knowledge the soul had had. Therefor, the only way to obtain true knowledge is to ignore the sensory experiences and use introspection to search for one’s inner understanding. This informs on redemption because his idea gives us a way out of the fallen, contaminated world and into a more enlightened state consisting of true, untainted knowledge. He believed the soul was immortal and had been reborn many times and that the way to true knowledge was to look into yourself and remember what your soul had experienced before it became part of the body. I find his entire reminiscence theory to be very interesting because I am an extremely introspective person and I have wondered if he was ever onto something. Whenever I look into myself, I am able to overcome many problems that I may not have been able to otherwise. Is there a way that I can see what my soul has experienced and am I really drawing from the true knowledge that I may have? Is it redeeming me and restoring my soul to what is was meant to be?