Epistemic Justice in Hierarchies

Sor Juana's core struggle was epistemic: the church and society denied her standing as a legitimate knower—not because her arguments were weak but because she was a woman, a colonial subject, and a nun. Epistemic justice, a concept she embodied long before it was named, means recognizing someone's capacity to contribute knowledge and creating conditions for that contribution to matter. Within Confucian frameworks, hierarchies determine who may speak on what topics; Sor Juana fought for her right to speak on theology, philosophy, and justice from her particular position. This concept applies to anyone whose role is assumed to exclude certain forms of knowledge-making: women in male-dominated fields, junior employees in corporate hierarchies, or colonized peoples in global institutions. The Confucian insight here is that respecting hierarchy need not mean silencing dissent or dismissing expertise; rather, mature hierarchies actively cultivate wisdom from all positions. Sor Juana's legacy demands that role identity include the right to epistemic contribution.