RL; In my view, the only consistent resolution of the question of what
"meaning" is (or what "semantics" is) is "Meaning is what minds just
happen to build when then apply their internal mechanisms to the job of
organizing their internal representation of the world".
It is actually useful - in fact v. important - I suggest, (and the
distinction is there in the language, though not in academe) - to
distinguish between "defining the meaning of" and "making sense of." The
brain does both.
To define the meaning is to interpet one set of symbols in terms of another
set. We continually do this in terms of producing dictionary definitions of
words.
To make sense of is to convert into images or graphics.
"Now I know what you mean" is the former.
"Now I can see what you are talking about"/"Now I get the picture" is the
latter.
Images - like photos/paintings - don't really have meanings.
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