 Broadly, the book seeks to naturalistically explain "aboutness", that is, concepts like intentionality, meaning, normativity, purpose, and function; which Deacon groups together and labels as ententional phenomena.Deacon's first book, "The Symbolic Species" focused on the evolution of human language.In that book, Deacon notes that much of the mystery surrounding language origins comes from a profound confusion about the nature of semiotic processes themselves.