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So, the question presents itself, is human behavior and interaction just
a bunch of chemicals reacting in the brain?

Well, on first blush, it looks that way. DNA encodes proteins, and those
proteins can make up the cells of the brain, or be messengers within or between
the cells. It has been shown that the introduction of outside chemicals into
the brain can result in changes in behavior. In addition, messages from parts
of the brain, essentially chemicals, can over-ride logic and self-interest.
In one study, one person was given $10, and allowed to offer the other person
up to $5. If the second person agreed, they money was exchanged, if the second
person refused the offer, the first person lost all of the money. The logical
course of action would be to always accept the offer, since something is better
than nothing, but in cases where the insula region of the brain was activated
by the offer, the second person would usually refuse, with the chance of
refusing becoming more likely the more strongly the insula was activated.

An interesting experiment has been carried out in which the activation of
various areas of the brain were measured while the subject chose to reach for
one of two objects. What was found is that the area responsible for the action
of reaching for an object activated before the region responsible for making
the decision. So what we are seeing is that the conscious mind reverses the
order in which we perceive these events so it seems like we are making a
choice, when in reality, it is just rationalizing an action that seems to
have just randomly occured. Pretty strange. So, it seems that chemical
things aren’t the sole source of human behavior, but it seems that we’re now
in the worse situation that nothing is the source of human behavior.

Let’s look at our universe model though. In it we have only the one
rule, that everything strives to become more than it is. What if humans, and
more importantly the human brain has suceeded at this in a way we are not
entirely aware? Matter uses gravity to coordinate over vast distances
the creation of great strings of galaxys in becoming more than it is. Perhaps
life has found some other field over which consciousness can communicate and the
mind is separate from the brain and mearly uses it as a program uses a computer
processor. Where this fits into our universe is that being tied only to matter
limits life, and prevents it from exploring all of the option of what it can be
and desires above all else to be. The first step in this expansion would be to
have one foot in both worlds so to speak. Maintaining a physical existance while
pushing some of the consciousness off into whatever the next step may be. And so,
perhaps this is where the mysterious decision making that the brain must
rationalize after the fact is coming from.

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