The Right to Exist Without Justification

Sor Juana's life exemplified resistance to demands that she justify her existence through approved roles—as nun, servant, or silent woman. Applied to animals, this concept rejects frameworks requiring animals to earn moral status through usefulness to humans. A creature's right to exist does not depend on being economically valuable, aesthetically pleasing, or functionally necessary to human society. This directly challenges agricultural, pharmaceutical, and entertainment industries that instrumentalize animals. Sor Juana's epistolary defenses of her intellectual pursuits model how to counter utilitarian arguments: she asserted intrinsic worth against those who questioned her value. Similarly, animals possess inherent dignity independent of human benefit. The concept undermines justifications for animal exploitation that calculate cost-benefit analyses. It positions moral consideration as unconditional, rooted in being rather than doing, aligning with Sor Juana's conviction that a person's—or a creature's—fundamental worth transcends instrumental metrics.