Intellectual Duty and Planetary Care

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz devoted her life to rigorous intellectual pursuit despite systemic barriers, viewing knowledge as both personal fulfillment and social responsibility. Her tradition teaches that those with access to learning carry a duty to illuminate truth for collective benefit. In climate justice, this means intellectuals—scientists, philosophers, educators—must courageously translate complex environmental knowledge into accessible wisdom that empowers communities. Climate change disproportionately harms marginalized populations excluded from knowledge systems, echoing Sor Juana's own exclusion from formal institutions. By claiming intellectual authority over climate understanding and refusing silence on injustice, we embody her legacy. The concept demands that privileged minds serve not themselves alone but the global responsibility to protect vulnerable peoples from environmental harm.