The Inheritance of Moral Imagination

Sor Juana did not abandon her intellectual tradition but worked within and transformed it, expanding what was considered possible and sayable. She inherited constraints but bequeathed possibilities. Her legacy teaches that moral imagination—the capacity to envision different relationships and possibilities—is itself a tradition we can inherit and extend. Currently, animals exist largely outside the circle of moral imagination. We struggle to genuinely consider what an animal wants, needs, or experiences because our inherited frameworks exclude them. But imagination can be trained and transmitted. Sor Juana's creative intellectual work demonstrates how to work within existing knowledge systems while pushing their boundaries. We can inherit legal traditions while expanding concepts of rights-bearing beings. We can maintain cultural food traditions while imagining their transformation. We can sustain scientific inquiry while centering animal wellbeing. Moral imagination is not fantasy but disciplined creativity—using our inherited tools to build different futures. Following Sor Juana, we become responsible for what we pass forward, for whether we expand or contract the circle of moral consideration for those who come after.