The Right to Disobey Unjust Authority

Sor Juana's continued study and writing despite ecclesiastical disapproval was an act of justified disobedience. Libertarian justice holds that authority derives from consent and the protection of rights; when authorities themselves violate rights—commanding silence, forbidding learning, or demanding surrender of conscience—they forfeit legitimacy and individuals may rightfully disobey. Sor Juana did not obey because the church's demand that she abandon intellectual life was unjust, a violation of her property in her own mind and labor. This concept rejects blanket obedience to institutions and instead ties obligation to justice. It vindicates civil disobedience and non-compliance when authority exceeds rightful bounds. Sor Juana's example shows that the intellectual and moral courage to refuse unjust demands is not merely permissible but exemplary, a fulfillment of libertarian duty.