Matter and meaning

A text is meaningful (and thus has meaning) if and only if there is precisely one assignment of its words to meanings such that applying the assignment to the text results in a comprehensible narrative for at least one properly functioning mind. So without minds there is no meaning. Moreover, it follows that a piece of matter has meaning just in case it has a structure to which assignments as aforementioned can be applied and precisely one of them results in a comprehensive narrative for an well-functioning mind. The reference specifically to minds - instead of e.g. to processors of symbols - is essential. For without conscious beings there would surely be patterns, activity and processes, but there would be no comprehension and thus no meaning.