Textual Authority and Interpretive Sovereignty

Sor Juana's writings engage biblical, theological, and philosophical texts not as passive recipients of Church doctrine but as active interpreters pursuing her own understanding. She asserted the right to read, question, and reinterpret foundational texts, even when her readings differed from clerical authority. This is interpretive sovereignty: the property right to make meaning from language and ideas. In Libertarian justice, no institution can monopolize interpretation of texts, history, law, or tradition. Readers are not subjects of meaning imposed from above; they are sovereigns of their own understanding. This principle protects intellectual freedom, prevents totalizing control through information monopoly, and recognizes that the right to read includes the right to disagree. Sor Juana's example shows how defending interpretive sovereignty—the freedom to read and think for oneself—is essential to protecting all other intellectual property rights.