Incomplete Nature: How Mind Emerged from Matter is a 2011 book by biological anthropologist Terrence Deacon.

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.

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.

The book expands upon the classical conceptions of work and information in order to give an account of ententionality that is consistent with materialism and yet does not seek to explain away or pass off as epiphenominal the non-physical properties of life.

Deacon makes the claim that just as the concept of zero revolutionized mathematics, thinking about life, mind, and other ententional phenomena in terms of constraints (i.e., what is absent) can similarly help us overcome the artificial dichotomy of the mind body problem.

The hole itself is not a physical thing, but rather a source of constraint that helps to restrict the conformational possibilities of the wheel's components, such that, on a global scale, the property of rolling emerges.

Constraints which produce emergent phenomena may not be a process which can be understood by looking at the make-up of the constituents of a pattern.

[4] Much of the book is devoted to expanding upon the ideas of classical thermodynamics, with an extended discussion about how consistently far from equilibrium systems can interact and combine to produce novel emergent properties.

Homeodynamic systems are essentially equivalent to classical thermodynamic systems like a gas under pressure or solute in solution, but the term serves to emphasize that homeodynamics is an abstract process that can be realized in forms beyond the scope of classic thermodynamics.

[5] In general, a homeodynamic system is any collection of components that will spontaneously eliminate constraints by rearranging the parts until a maximum entropy state (disorderliness) is achieved.

Other common examples are snowflake formation, whirlpools and the stimulated emission of laser light.

In the case of a Rayleigh–Bénard cell, heat at the base of the liquid produces an uneven distribution of high energy molecules which will tend to diffuse towards the surface.

Self organization: The convection creates currents in the fluid that disrupt the pattern of heat diffusion from bottom to top.

The areas of the fluid where diffusion is occurring most rapidly will be the most viscous because molecules are rubbing against each other in opposite directions.

The convection currents will shun these areas in favor of parts of the fluid where they can flow more easily.

Deacon claims that we should pinpoint the moment when two morphodynamic systems reciprocally constrain each other as the point when ententional qualities like function, purpose and normativity emerge.

[7] Reciprocal catalysis: An autogen consists of two self catalyzing cyclical morphodynamic chemical reactions, similar to a chemoton.

Either process in isolation would be abiotic but together they create a system with a normative status dependent on the functioning of its component parts.

As with other concepts in the book, in his discussion of work Deacon seeks to generalize the Newtonian conception of work such that the term can be used to describe and differentiate mental phenomena - to describe "that which makes daydreaming effortless but metabolically equivalent problem solving difficult.

In a morphodynamic system, the tendency towards symmetry produces not global equilibrium, but a complex geometric form like a hexagonal Benard cell or the resonant frequency of a flute.

If any of the strings are tuned to a resonant frequency that matches the note being played, they too will begin to vibrate and emit sound.

This orthograde morphodynamic form generation can be used to induce contragrade change in the system coupled to it - the taut string.

Structure and form: Importantly, this is not just the macro scale propagation of random micro vibrations from one system to another.

For example, in a population of New Zealand wrybill who make a living by searching for grubs under rocks, those that have a bent beak gain access to more calories.

"[12] By conceiving of work in this way, Deacon claims "we can begin to discern a basis for a form of causal openness in the universe.

The causal power of any complex living system lies not solely in the underlying quantum mechanics but also in the global arrangement of its components.

A careful arrangement of parts can constrain possibilities such that phenomena that were formerly impossibly rare can become improbably common.

That is, there are many more ways for a collection of particles to be well mixed than to be segregated based on velocity, mass, or any other property.

Deacon's addition to Shannon information theory is to propose a method for describing not just how a message is transmitted, but also how it is interpreted.