ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the conception of meaning depicted in his critique of Plato's worlds, and then contrastingly compares Abu'l-Barakat's realms with Plato's worlds. It describes the epistemological hierarchy and depicts Abu'l-Barakat's theory of meaning aligned with the different levels of the epistemology. The hierarchical modes of the epistemology are connected to the ontological levels by stages wherein meaning occurs, conceived through the types of media – mind, soul, and the combined whole organism. According to Abu'l-Barakat, any attempt to establish the conceptual meanings from the top of the hierarchy, thereby assimilating meaning from the top downwards, will lead to the fundamental errors of the philosophers, including those of Aristotle and Avicenna. The Metaphysics espouses a theory of two undefined notions – the existent and existence. Apprehension, on the other hand, grasps the distinction and differentiates between the forms of existence, existential and mental.
