One Big Problem Organizes Many Sub-Problems

Rather than many independent evolved modules, humans face one organizing problem—collaborating to get food under partner choice—which brings with it about fifty hierarchically organized sub-problems (cognitive, communicative, socio-moral, reputational), making it more plausible that a single big adaptive challenge in the last million years organizes many smaller capacities than that we evolved separate adaptations for language, theory of mind, institutions, and mathematics each.