Epistemic Justice and Cultural Knowledge

Sor Juana integrated theological, scientific, poetic, and philosophical knowledge systems, refusing Western hierarchies that positioned one as superior. Epistemic justice addresses how certain groups—particularly non-Western, non-elite, and non-male voices—are systematically excluded from being recognized as knowers. For political identity across cultures, this means legitimizing indigenous epistemologies, oral traditions, and non-academic wisdom alongside institutional knowledge. When a person holds multiple cultural inheritances, epistemic justice allows them to synthesize knowledge from various traditions without subordinating one to another. Sor Juana's scientific curiosity combined with spiritual inquiry challenges false binaries that force political actors to choose between tradition and modernity. In contemporary multicultural contexts, epistemic justice enables communities to build political identities that honor ancestral knowledge while engaging contemporary discourse. This framework prevents cultural assimilation by validating the epistemic authority of marginalized communities.