Epistemic Justice Across Hierarchies

Sor Juana faced systematic epistemic injustice: her ideas were dismissed not on intellectual merit but because she was a woman, a nun, and from a colonized territory. Epistemic justice demands we evaluate arguments fairly, not filter them through prejudice about who legitimately speaks. Fair civilizations recognize that truth and insight emerge from unexpected sources—that a brilliant woman in a convent may see what powerful men miss. This concept challenges us to examine our reflexive dismissals and biases about credibility. When we practice epistemic justice, we expand our collective knowledge and correct historical blind spots. Sor Juana's letters, poetry, and theological arguments deserve the same rigorous engagement we grant male European philosophers, simply because fairness requires it.