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Values are virtue ethics in disguise—traits we’re expected to cultivate. But virtues are context-dependent (courage for a soldier isn’t courage for a teacher) and the situation overwhelmingly drives behaviour. The real task is designing the context, not listing the virtues.

Values Don't Matter

audio

Everyone loves organisational values. Corporates, militaries, sports clubs, schools—any place where people collect in a serious way has a list of qualities they want everyone to embody. But values are just virtue ethics by another name. And virtue ethics suffer two rather troubling problems: virtues are hugely context-dependent, and the situation overwhelmingly drives behaviour anyway. So if you want people to act virtuously, design the context.

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filed under:

betterment spiritual-architecture on-culture on-ethics on-leadership

audio

The hard problem of consciousness is just a complicated debate with no real outcomes. It’s the behaviour that matters, not whether there’s ineffable qualia behind the curtain.

Stupid Questions: Consciousness

audio

What is consciousness? From Mary’s Room to philosophical zombies, from panpsychism to eliminativism, everyone has theories about the “hard problem.” But under what realistic circumstances would it actually matter whether something is truly conscious versus merely appearing conscious?

The hard problem of consciousness is just a complicated debate with no real outcomes. It’s the behaviour that matters, not whether there’s ineffable qualia behind the curtain.

Check it out ↗

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betterment thought-architecture on-being-fruitful on-ethics on-the-nature-of-things on-thinking-and-reasoning

article

Nature is just nurture over time, and nurture is far more obviously in charge; nothing changes if free will <em>isn’t</em> real; and the same is true of consciousness. They’re just complicated debates with no real outcomes.

Stupid Questions

article

There are a few questions which, on the surface, seem hugely important. Then, on closer inspection, turn out to be more or less irrelevant. I need a place to write about them, so I thought I’d make it a sort of always-evolving article. So far, I talk about how useless the nature-vs-nurture debate is and how boring the questions of whether free-will is real, and what consciousness might be are.

Nature is just nurture over time, and nurture is far more obviously in charge; nothing changes if free will isn’t real; and the same is true of consciousness. They’re just complicated debates with no real outcomes.

Check it out

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betterment thought-architecture on-being-fruitful on-ethics on-the-nature-of-things on-thinking-and-reasoning

audio

Nothing changes if free will isn’t real. The world is so intractably complex that it doesn’t matter, and we can shape behaviour either way. Why bother asking?

Stupid Questions: Free Will

audio

From Libet’s experiments to modern neuroscience, evidence keeps mounting that our decisions might be predetermined. But even if free will is an illusion, what would actually change? Behaviour is still something we can modify, determinism doesn’t excuse us from consequence, and the debate itself is practically irrelevant.

Nothing changes if free will isn’t real. The world is so intractably complex that it doesn’t matter, and we can shape behaviour either way. Why bother asking?

Check it out ↗

filed under:

betterment thought-architecture on-being-fruitful on-ethics on-the-nature-of-things on-thinking-and-reasoning

audio

Nature is just nurture over time, and nurture is far more obviously in charge. The debate is Malcolm Gladwell shit—superficially sexy but practically useless.

Stupid Questions: Nature/Nurture

audio

The nature versus nurture debate seems foundational to understanding human behaviour. But evolutionary stories are just stories, genetics is shaped by environment, and the environment matters far more anyway. So why are we still arguing about it?

Nature is just nurture over time, and nurture is far more obviously in charge. The debate is Malcolm Gladwell shit—superficially sexy but practically useless.

Check it out ↗

filed under:

betterment thought-architecture on-being-fruitful on-the-nature-of-things on-thinking-and-reasoning

Newsletter | About

btrmt.

Examining ideologies worth choosing. btrmt. (betterment) is created by Dorian Minors, a Cambridge-educated cognitive neuroscientist and Associate Professor of Behavioural Science at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. The core philosophy: humans are animals first, with automatic patterns of thought and behaviour. These ideologies are often chosen for us, not by us. Better to examine and choose for yourself.

Core concepts. Animals First: our greatest capacity is for nurture—sharing and examining ideas together. Half Awake: we live deadened by systems that narrow rather than expand our potential. Karstica: metaphor for unexamined ideologies (like karst landscapes with hidden sinkholes beneath). Credenda: the belief systems and ideologies we live by.

The "Half Awake" manifesto. The cynosure (what to focus on): betterment (excellence within morality), gratification (positive states, self-renewal, creativity), and connection (meaning through something greater than ourselves). The architecture (what supports focus): inner (somatic, spiritual, thought) and outer (digital, collective, wealth).

About Dorian Minors. Started btrmt. over a decade ago (2013) to share the sciences of mind with people who weren't studying them, or couldn't. Background includes six years in the Australian Defence Force as Platoon Commander (Infantry); crisis counselling certification (Lifeline Australia, 2015); BPsychHons and Master of Research in Philosophy of Cognitive Science (Macquarie); Gates Cambridge Scholar with PhD in cognitive neuroscience from University of Cambridge (2018-2024), researching how the brain solves complex decisions using simple mechanisms; Methods Director at IMAGINE (Paul Polman's leadership transformation firm); and currently Associate Professor at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the Department of Communication and Applied Behavioural Science.

Research focus. The neural basis of intelligent behaviour; decision intelligence; how rituals of thought, feeling, and action are formed, improved, and break down; ethical leadership and human systems change; wellbeing in the brain.

Mission. Not to provide answers or instruction manuals, but to gather and examine ideologies so others can choose the ones right for them. Break down academic gatekeeping. Make the sciences of mind accessible. Question rather than prescribe.

Writing style. Scholarly but not gatekeeping—rigorous without jargon barriers. Philosophical yet practical—ideas grounded in neuroscience and lived experience. Reflective tone, discovery-oriented rather than achievement-oriented. Literary references and metaphor. Critical of systems that narrow rather than expand human potential.

Notes. Content blends neuroscience, philosophy, behavioural science, and lived experience. Target audience: people seeking to understand themselves and choose their own ideologies. Deeply influenced by William James, stoicism, eastern philosophy, modern neuroscience. Rejects the narrative that humans are inherently flawed—we're "half awake" not broken. 2000+ members in the btrmt. community.

Copyright. BTRMT LIMITED registered in England and Wales (no. 13755561) 2026. Dorian Minors 2026.

Resources

The Manifesto: "Half Awake" - the complete philosophy
About: Dorian's background and the btrmt. story
Animals First: Guide to understanding btrmt.
Analects: Collection of writings/audio examining ideologies

Optional

Some of Dorian's projects are hosted elsewhere, though relevant links can usually be found at the Analects. Those sites are:

Lectures: Podcasts exploring ideologies
Neurotypica: Brain science guide for non-scientists
Black Cortex: Leadership consulting (measurable transformation)