Michael Wingate is a senior in Leverett House joint concentrating in Philosophy and Government with a secondary in Spanish. He is interested in how governments and governmental structures are created in order to secure "the good" for its people, the deliberations about what that "good" is, and how it is manifested in lawmaking and law enforcement. He is also interested in questions of moral responsibility, namely to what extent free will and control should play a role in blame and blameworthiness. Outside of the classroom, Michael is a member of the Kuumba Singers of Harvard College, the Hasty Pudding Theatricals Cast, is a Peer Advising Fellow, and works part-time in Langdell, the Harvard Law School Library.

With funding from the Lester Kissel Grant in Practical Ethics, Michael has embarked on a senior thesis asking to what degree can actions taken by individuals wrought by manipulation through a government can be morally attributable to said individuals, focusing on the historical context of Nazi Germany. The project investigates whether manipulative measures enacted in totalitarian regimes, such as propaganda, can force people to behave in certain ways against their reflectively desired wills, and whether the influence of such manipulation can be grounds to absolve someone of moral responsibility for their actions.

This information is accurate as of the fellowship year indicated for each fellow.