The article reviews Terrence W. Deacon's book *The Symbolic Species: The Co-Evolution of Language and the Brain*. Published in 1997, the book challenges modern linguistic theories, particularly Chomsky's Universal Grammar paradigm. Deacon argues that language and symbolic representation are not innate but emerge at the interface between biology and culture. He supports this claim with evolutionary theory, emphasizing that natural selection can modify the context in which it operates, leading to new selection pressures. Deacon refutes the idea of innate syntactic processing modules, suggesting that language is a product of human co-evolution with their environment. He also discusses the limitations of Universal Grammar in explaining language's variability and the absence of genetic assimilation for such complex traits. The review highlights Deacon's provocative arguments, which blend neurology, philosophy, linguistics, and paleontology, and their significant impact on the field of linguistics.The article reviews Terrence W. Deacon's book *The Symbolic Species: The Co-Evolution of Language and the Brain*. Published in 1997, the book challenges modern linguistic theories, particularly Chomsky's Universal Grammar paradigm. Deacon argues that language and symbolic representation are not innate but emerge at the interface between biology and culture. He supports this claim with evolutionary theory, emphasizing that natural selection can modify the context in which it operates, leading to new selection pressures. Deacon refutes the idea of innate syntactic processing modules, suggesting that language is a product of human co-evolution with their environment. He also discusses the limitations of Universal Grammar in explaining language's variability and the absence of genetic assimilation for such complex traits. The review highlights Deacon's provocative arguments, which blend neurology, philosophy, linguistics, and paleontology, and their significant impact on the field of linguistics.