Epistemic Justice Across Generations

Women's voices were systematically discredited in Sor Juana's time; she was dismissed as vain, heretical, or confused rather than taken seriously as a thinker. This epistemic injustice—the denial of someone's capacity to know and speak truth—has intergenerational consequences. When we silence or dismiss certain people's knowledge, we impoverish everyone's understanding and leave future generations less equipped to solve real problems. For intergenerational justice, epistemic justice means committing to hear and validate the knowledge of those historically excluded: women, Indigenous peoples, the poor, the young. Sor Juana's vindication as a genuine intellectual pioneer shows that silenced voices contained wisdom we desperately needed. To honor future generations, we must actively create structures where diverse perspectives are recognized as sources of truth, not obstacles to it.