The Authority to Interpret Reality

Sor Juana's theological and philosophical works operated within a male-defined intellectual tradition, yet she used those very tools to expand what could be asked and known. Privilege includes the authority to interpret reality itself: what is a valid question, what constitutes evidence, whose experience matters as data. The privileged often mistake their particular perspective for objectivity. This concept asks: who in your circles has unquestioned authority to define truth? Whose interpretations are automatically scholarly versus anecdotal? Who can theorize and who can only testify? Acknowledging privilege here means recognizing that your framework for understanding the world was not created in a vacuum but reflects the interests and blind spots of those with power to establish knowledge systems. Sor Juana's legacy suggests the antidote is not abandoning frameworks but actively inviting alternative interpretations, treating other realities as equally complex and demanding intellectual seriousness.