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RE: The Holocene Mass Extinction Part 4: The Great Chain of Being
No, you are right, but your example is known in evolution as the "keen selection", you are saving your closer relatives (your brother is more important than a stranger, someone from your country is closer to you than some Inuit, etc...).
What would you choose: shark or salmon (salmon is "upper")
Or: Lemur vs Chimpanzee (chimpanzee is "upper" but lemurs are cute)
Or: some exotic unique lizard vs a juicy, tasty pig
What if I saved an alien (by definition not my gene pool) that I know has superior consciousness instead of the woman? What if I'd rather save Shakespeare than a cousin? Would that sufficiently falsify your theory that it's not my logical/moral mind talking, but evolutionary pressures to save my kin?
In all cases you mention, I would save the creature that in my opinion possesses greater consciousness. There could be exceptions, as in when two creatures of higher consciousness are more or less identical so having more that a few million becomes rather redundant :p (so maybe I would save the rare creature vs the common pig)
In case of Shakespeare, or your fellow soldier comrade vs traitor brother, you are saving the idea, what Dawkins is calling "the meme".
But I think we have that instinct to save our owns, or those like us. For example, you would hesitate for a second to destroy this coffee:
Now you made me crave a hot chocolate...
:)