The principle that the pursuit of truth through reason and inquiry is both a fundamental right (property in one's own epistemic effort) and a moral duty that no authority can legitimately restrict.
Sor Juana's famous defense of her intellectual pursuits—her insistence that the pursuit of knowledge is not merely permitted but obligatory for a rational being—grounds truth-seeking in both freedom and responsibility. In libertarian justice, this means your right to seek truth is property you own and cannot be surrendered, but it is also a duty you cannot evade without violating your own humanity. Authorities that restrict inquiry, censor information, or demand acceptance of falsehood violate both your freedom and your obligation to yourself. Sor Juana saw the restriction of her studies as a violation: they prevented her from fulfilling her human nature. Conversely, she accepted her own responsibility to pursue truth rigorously and honestly. This concept protects intellectual freedom while grounding it in something deeper than mere preference: the human capacity and duty to know. It resists both tyrannies—institutional control over thought and the relativism that treats truth-seeking as optional. Libertarian justice must protect your right to seek truth and recognize your duty to do so with integrity, honesty, and rigor. This makes intellectual freedom not merely a liberty but a cornerstone of human dignity.
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