The Intellectual Life of Non-Human Animals

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz fought fiercely for women's right to intellectual pursuits in a society that denied them education and autonomy. Her tradition illuminates how marginalized beings are systematically denied recognition of their capacities. Applied to animals, this concept challenges us to acknowledge that non-human creatures possess their own forms of intelligence, memory, and problem-solving abilities—capacities we dismiss only through prejudice. Just as Sor Juana demanded recognition of women's minds, we must recognize the cognitive lives of animals: the social intelligence of elephants, the problem-solving of corvids, the emotional complexity of primates. This intellectual recognition forms the foundation for moral consideration, as we cannot justify exploitation of beings whose inner lives we acknowledge as real and significant.