Intellectual Duty and Planetary Care

Sor Juana believed that intellectual gifts carry inherent responsibilities to serve justice and the greater community. In climate justice, this translates to the duty of scientists, scholars, and educated citizens to translate complex environmental knowledge into action and advocacy. Those with access to learning must illuminate climate realities for others, challenge denial and apathy, and use their platforms to demand accountability from institutions. This concept rejects the notion that knowledge is merely personal property, instead positioning it as a trust held for collective benefit. Climate justice requires intellectuals to cross disciplinary boundaries, question existing power structures that perpetuate environmental harm, and champion the rights of vulnerable populations most affected by ecological collapse. Sor Juana's own defiance of restrictions on women's learning mirrors contemporary demands that marginalized voices—Indigenous peoples, frontline communities—become central to climate solutions rather than passive subjects of external expertise.