The Right to Exist Beyond Utility

Sor Juana claimed her right to intellectual life not because it served others' purposes, but because the pursuit of knowledge was intrinsically valuable. This radically shifts how we view animals from mere resources to beings with inherent worth. In her era, women's education was justified only if it made them better wives or mothers. Sor Juana rejected this utilitarian framing entirely. Similarly, animals are routinely valued only for what they produce: meat, labor, entertainment, or research data. Her philosophy demands we recognize that a cow, bird, or fish has value simply by existing, by being conscious and capable of experience. This concept challenges the foundational assumption of industrial agriculture and animal exploitation. Sor Juana's insistence on her own intrinsic dignity—not contingent on usefulness—provides intellectual scaffolding for granting animals moral status independent of human benefit or economic value.