Epistemic Justice and Equal Intellectual Worth

Sor Juana challenged her era's assumption that women were intellectually inferior and unfit for serious study—a systematic denial of epistemic justice that excluded women from the knowledge commons. Her work and writings proved that women's reasoning, observations, and contributions held equal value. In Libertarian justice, epistemic justice ensures that property rights protect access to knowledge and intellectual participation for all, regardless of identity. It establishes that marginalization from education, publication, or intellectual discourse constitutes a violation of cognitive liberty and economic opportunity. This framework corrects systems that systematically discredit certain groups' knowledge and contributions, preventing them from building wealth, reputation, and influence through intellectual labor. Sor Juana's legacy demands societies that guarantee equal recognition of all minds, enabling everyone to contribute to and benefit from the knowledge economy.