Meaning, evaluation, value, and goal are closely related but distinct.
Meaning concerns significance. A condition has meaning when it indicates something relevant to a living system.
Evaluation concerns assessment. A living system evaluates whether a condition is beneficial, harmful, or neutral relative to viability and organised persistence.
Value concerns importance. A condition becomes biologically valuable when it consistently contributes to functioning, regulation, or adaptive persistence.
Goal concerns directed response. Goals arise when organisms act to obtain, maintain, avoid, or modify conditions that matter.
In APS terms, meaning identifies significance, evaluation assesses significance, value stabilises importance, and goals organise action.