2026 UG Conference Papers

Sebastian Teran

Many individuals equate happiness with seeking personal satisfaction, accomplishment, and public attention. However, dystopian literature challenges this popular sentiment by creating oppressive societies in which the search for happiness is always prevented, controlled, or constantly redefined.

Connor Pellicciotti

To be bored is not merely to be unoccupied; it is to experience the friction of a human consciousness designed for purpose when it is suddenly untethered from meaningful action. 

Elizabeth Rengifo-Vega 

We are a legacy-driven species. We, perhaps with another level of intensity and for distinct reasons than the other beings on this planet, long for something to outlast us.  

Matthew Ewy

Happiness, properly understood through a Stoic lens, is not about feeling good––such as the Epicurean may believe––or lucky circumstances but about virtue as a mode of being, and this redefinition is more philosophically defensible than the common understanding. 

Victoria

Happiness is found when you find a purpose, fulfill it, and are satisfied with it. However, I believe that another prerequisite to having long term happiness is having your basic needs fulfilled.

Jake Hoina

The highest good in life is the combination of virtuous moral character and self-fulfillment. Virtue is the key to unlocking the door of happiness. This leads to human flourishing as a goal, but one must accept reality in turn...