Politics and Law | December 15, 2025

Harvard Magazine Questionnaire: Law in a Lifeboat

Moral philosophers, legal experts, and generations of Harvard students have debated this Victorian-era cannibalism case. Now it’s your turn.

A vintage compass with cardinal directions marked in black and white. — MONTAge illustration by niko yaitanes/*harvard magazine*; compass image by pexels

Editor's Note: This survey has closed. You can read the results in the March-April 2026 issue of Harvard Magazine.

TEST YOUR MORAL COMPASS
In 1884, the shipwrecked crew of the Mignonette was adrift in a lifeboat for 21 days, with no food or water, before the officers slayed and ate the cabin boy. Moral philosophers and legal experts—and generations of Harvard students—have debated the subsequent murder case. Read the story in Harvard Magazine and join the conversation by filling out the questionnaire below. Responses may be published online and in print.

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Cover story: The 1884 Cannibalism-at-Sea Case That Still Has Harvard Talking

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