Epistemic Justice and the Right to Know

Sor Juana's insistence on her right to study theology, philosophy, mathematics, and science in an age when women were excluded from such pursuits articulates a radical claim: that epistemic access is a justice issue. Libertarian justice must recognize that restricting who may learn, read, or investigate is a form of property theft—theft of one's own mind's potential. Sor Juana's voluminous learning and her refusal to accept prescribed ignorance model what epistemic freedom looks like. This concept argues that institutional gatekeeping of knowledge—whether through education monopolies, book banning, or credentialism—violates individual liberty and dignity. When freedom is understood to include the freedom to develop one's faculties through learning, education cannot be merely state-granted privilege but a fundamental right rooted in self-ownership.