Steven Pinker on Evolutionary Psychology: Kin Selection

Kin selection seems both obvious and then again like a complete mystery. Steven Pinker suggests in kin selection that there has been gene selection that lead us to favor our blood relatives over strangers even at the cost of our own.. This to most people seems like common sense. That we love our family and if not love, we are obligated to like our family, and so we as people tend to act in ways that aid the reproductive success of our families over our own, in a situation of stress when the fight or flight response is activated we would most likely choose fight if family was involved and flight if not.

What makes this a mystery is the idea that what makes us favor our family is found in a gene. It makes sense that if we ourselves cannot reproduce, to ensure the survival of our gene pool we aid our family in the successful reproduction of their, because then at least a portion of the same genes would succeed. But to aid if we cannot reproduce is different then to aid in the successful reproduction of our families if we can reproduce ourselves. So what occurs when both ones own children and their siblings children are in danger, according to the kin selection theory who would you save first. What I would do and what I believe the theory would say is that the individuals with the closets gene similarities, your children, would be the first instinct to save. But then what about our nieces and nephews? I can see where kin selection would be beneficial when decision need to be made concerning family over strangers but family over other family is a difficult area.