Periagoge
Concept
1 min read

Freedom from Intellectual Coercion

Protection against forced silence, censorship, or compelled agreement with institutional or state-imposed doctrine.

Juana
Why It Matters

Sor Juana's renunciation of her library under ecclesiastical pressure represents the ultimate violation of intellectual freedom—forced surrender of her own mind's property. Libertarian justice demands that no institution, including churches and governments, may compel silence, censor thought, or demand ideological conformity under threat of punishment or exile. Sor Juana's letters reveal her resistance to this coercion: she argued for women's right to think independently and challenge authority through reason. Freedom from intellectual coercion means individuals retain absolute ownership of their thoughts and expression; censorship, book-burning, and thought-policing constitute theft of the mind itself and violations of fundamental rights.

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Juana
Identity & Justice
Peri
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