Periagoge
Concept
1 min read

The Right to Refuse Obedience

The principle that individuals retain the right to reject unjust authority—even religious or state power—when it violates conscience and intellectual freedom.

Juana
Why It Matters

Sor Juana's famous response to the Bishop of Puebas, *Response to Sor Filotea*, defends her right to study, question, and speak despite ecclesiastical prohibition. She practiced civil disobedience through intellectual persistence: continuing to write, teach, and reason despite institutional pressure to silence her. In Libertarian justice, the right to refuse obedience is foundational: no authority—throne, altar, or law—can rightfully compel assent to ideas you reject or prohibit you from pursuing knowledge. This is not anarchic; it is the recognition that property in your own conscience cannot be alienated or seized. Sor Juana's courage illuminates how freedom depends on the right to say no, to question, and to think independently even when power demands conformity.

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Juana
Identity & Justice
Peri
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