This essay refers to an earlier essay on information but I think one can understand this without posting that essay.
It is helpful to sum up difficult philosophical terms in less than four words, such as truth corresponds to reality or knowledge is true justified belief. Let’s do this with meaning. Meaning points to new truths, or facts mean more facts. Can this five word slogan capture all of our intuitions about meaning? Because A B and C are true, therefore D is true, or A B and C mean D. Or Angelina says M N and O, therefore she means P. Facts are embodied in information and as we already pointed out information comes in three forms: sense-data, data and integrated information. Let’s start with sense-data. It is a fact that certain electromagnetic wave-lengths are 660 nm. What does this fact mean, or what new facts does this fact point to? It points to the fact that that electromagnetic wave-length means that you will experience the sensation of redness. Let’s now move on to data. Say you record the high temperature for five days in a row and it is 4, 6, 7, 8, 10. What do these facts mean, or what new facts does this fact point to? It means that the high temperature rose with each successive day. We now move on to the most interesting form of information: integrated information. We have a fact: I see a metallic object shaped as an octagon which is red and the letters “stop” are written on it. What do these facts taken together mean or what new facts do they point to? It means that the authorities wish for anyone who sees the sign should stop.
Consider now the following facts: one, the galaxies are rushing away from each other, two, the further they are, the faster they are moving, three, we can see the Cosmic Microwave Background which is the earliest time in our universe’s history and it is completely smooth. What do these facts mean? Or given these facts what new facts can be uttered? They mean that the Big Bang occurred. We are sometimes asked what is the meaning of the 20th Century. That simply means that given the factual events of the 20th Century what other facts or theories can we claim. Let’s now move on to symbols. It is a fact that certain symbols regularly take on certain properties. All X’s share certain properties and it is a fact that scratches on a piece of paper mean that new facts can be uttered. So if one sees certain scratch marks on a paper such as: “The fox jumped,” that is a fact and it is a fact that there is a community of speakers that have agreed that those facts point to other facts, namely that a certain furry mammal performed the action of propelling itself into the air.
There is finally one other use of the word meaning which can cause some confusion. People mean things. As I stated earlier information translates truth from the private world to the public world and vice versa. It is a fact that people have beliefs and desires. These beliefs and desires have to be communicated to others. People produce facts, namely sounds or markings on paper which together are symbols and these facts point to new facts, namely, that a subject had a certain belief or desire.
Physicalist philosophers tend focus on how symbols get their meaning since this seems to be a non-physical process. For example, the symbol S can be embodied in several different atomic arrangements. For non-physicalists like me how symbols get their meaning is simple. It is a brute fact. Subject A decides that symbol B refers to object O which fits into category C and subject P agrees on this usage. It can not be explained how subject A decides that B means C, nor can it be explained how subject A recognizes object O which fits into category C or how subject P recognizes category C either.
Definition of meaning
Meaning is a property of a true statement iff the consequences of the true statement is a new true statement. Meaning points to new truths, or facts mean more facts.
X means Y is synonymous with X points to Y or X implies Y or X entails Y.
This is called consequential meaning because the consequences of A and B are C.
Quite often the new true statement is an action: X and Y are true, therefore, we should do Z.
If the meaning originates in one’s personal private world, then the meaning is active.
Definition of active meaning
Active meaning describes a series of symbols X iff a subject A believes or desires Y and uses symbol X to cause subject B to understand that subject A desires or believes Y.
Active meaning is synonymous with intention.