Epistemological Humility Against Corrupt Certainty

Sor Juana's method involved questioning, testing evidence, and remaining open to correction—intellectual humility about knowledge's limits. Corrupt systems often deploy false certainty: 'This is how things must be,' 'Trust authority,' 'Don't ask questions.' Epistemological humility is an antidote. It means being willing to revise beliefs with new evidence, admitting ignorance, and distrusting anyone claiming to have ultimate truth. This is not relativism—some claims are better supported than others. But it recognizes that knowledge is provisional and that corrupt actors exploit dogmatism to prevent accountability. Effective anti-corruption frameworks build in mechanisms for course correction: sunset clauses on regulations, mandatory evidence reviews, protection for dissenting views. They avoid concentrating power in anyone claiming absolute knowledge. Sor Juana modeled this intellectual openness while resisting dogmatic suppression. In fighting corruption, this means designing systems where nobody is unchallengeable, evidence matters more than authority, and institutions can change when shown they're wrong. Healthy institutions are those willing to question themselves.