The Duty of Conscience Over Obedience

Sor Juana's famous response to the Bishop of Pueblos asserted her right to examine doctrine through reason and conscience rather than simply obey ecclesiastical authority. This represents a foundational libertarian principle: that no institution—religious, political, or educational—can legitimately demand obedience that overrides individual judgment about what is right and true. Applied to property and freedom, this means individuals retain the right to question laws, taxes, and regulations they believe unjust, rather than default to compliance. Sor Juana modeled intellectual disobedience as morally necessary, refusing to silence her questions or abandon her reasoning. For libertarian justice, this establishes conscience as a property right—the ownership of one's own judgment and moral agency. Institutions cannot legitimately claim authority over how a person thinks or what they conclude to be just, making this concept essential to resisting paternalism and defending the sovereignty of individual reasoning.