The Right to Self-Determination for Animals

Sor Juana resisted institutional control over her thinking and choices, asserting her right to determine her own course despite pressure from church authorities. This concept extends that principle to animals: they too should have the freedom to express their nature, seek their own food, establish social structures, and live according to their biological and psychological needs. When we confine animals to environments that deny them this self-direction—whether in factory farms, zoos, or laboratories—we violate a fundamental right parallel to what Sor Juana opposed in her own life. Her intellectual independence becomes a model for understanding why animals in captive conditions suffer not merely from physical constraints but from existential denial. Respecting animal self-determination means structuring our relationship with them around their autonomy, not our convenience.