Knowledge as Collective Inheritance

Sor Juana wrote and taught in a context where knowledge was hoarded by institutions and gatekeepers—yet she envisioned learning as humanity's shared birthright. Climate justice requires this same collective framing: the atmosphere belongs to no one and everyone; scientific discoveries about planetary systems are common heritage, not corporate IP to be monetized; Indigenous ecological knowledge developed over centuries is collective property of communities, not resources for biopiracy. When pharmaceutical companies patent medicines derived from traditional plants or when corporations profit from climate solutions while bearing no responsibility for historical emissions, they violate this principle of knowledge commons. Climate models, emissions data, and renewable energy designs should circulate freely so all communities can understand their circumstances and build solutions. Sor Juana's insistence on the universality of human reason—that curiosity and understanding are not gendered, racialized, or class-specific—supports environmental justice frameworks that recognize our interdependence and shared fate on one planet. In the climate crisis, knowledge hoarding by wealthy nations and corporations while vulnerable populations remain information-starved perpetuates injustice. Collective knowledge means transparent climate science, freely available technology transfer to developing nations, and recognition that solving climate change requires humanity learning together.