Among educators in the field of language and literature, in the German-speaking world and beyond, the concept of "competence" has been gaining ground for three decades. This article questions the validity of prevalent competence definitions, which by focusing on the proficiency of an individual student ignore the fact that in understanding literature, as well as in composition, communal achievement is essential. By drawing on evolutionary anthropology and by collecting evidence from studies in literary and composition learning, the author draws on his own teaching experience to show that students' competence develops by interaction. Educational research, however, widely fails to take this into account.