Although this interpretation seems plausible, I think that Sor Juana’s description of a soul free from the senses entails more than an account of feminist standpoint epistemology (read also Kirk, 2016). That is, when dreaming her soul (cognitive abilities) is not restrained by her physical reality. One reason, it has been commonly argued, is that dreaming represents Sor Juana’s situated physical reality, as a woman in colonial Mexico where knowledge was gendered male, and her innate thirst for knowledge are not in tension (Rodríguez, 2012). Thus, the soul sees itself free from the overwhelming senses “así pues, del profundo sueño dulce los miembros ocupados, quedaron los sentidos del que ejercicio tiene ordinario trabajo…si privados no, al menos suspendidos” ( to the sweet indolence of sleep having delivered mind and limb and of the ordinary exercise…relieved, if not deprived). The process starts with the beginning of the night “ El sueño todo, en fin, lo poséia: todo, en fin, el silencio lo ucupaba” ( All, finally, by sleep possessed, all in silence embraced). That being said, the reason I decided to focus on the soul’s journey is because in this stage Sor Juana illustrates the fundamental difference between intuitive method, which is a thinking method in which truth is immediate and expected “y por mirarlo todo nada veía, ni discernir magia” ( trying to see all things, saw none nor…could it discern magic), and understanding/comprehension, which is a thinking method in which truth is not immediate nor expected, but pursued and investigated (Bernet, 2006) “aunque a la vista quiso manifiesto dar señas de posible, a la comprehensión no, que entorcepecida…retrocedió cobarde” ( immeasurable aggregate in sum beyond comprehension, though, seemingly manifest, to sight almost revealed but… uncomprehend by the mind which, overwhelmed, retreated in defeat). night as the time in which the senses stop their activity for a moment, dreaming as the time in which the soul (mind) attempts to understand what it has been perceived, and day represents our constant attempt to understand the world around us. These three stages, thus, represent how knowledge is conceived––i.e. The world is an unlimited universe full of questions, which answers cannot be found at the first attempt, according to Sor Juana. the essence of how human experiences helps us acquire a complete knowledge of the universe––consists essentially of these three stages is crucial. Although I will be talking solely on the soul’s journey, acknowledging that her complete account of concerning human understanding ––i.e. My analysis focuses primarily on Sor Juana’s Primero Sueño (around 1685) poem, which has been divided into three sections: (1) Nightfall (2) The Soul’s Journey (dreaming) and (3) Day (Paz 1982 Rodríguez, 2012). Since Sor Juana’s work on women’s education ( Respuesta a Sor Filotea) and writings about women’s double standards ( Hombres Necios Que Acusáis) is by far what she is most known in non-Hispanic academic philosophy, here I will focus on her thoughts about knowledge. For example, Sor Juana wrote a poem about knowledge ( Primero Sueño) and engaged in debates regarding God’s nature and aptitudes ( Carta Atenagorica) through the use of elegant arguments, which can easily be compared to contemporary philosophical writing. the idea that only men are producers of knowledge––Sor Juana was a skilled philosopher that spoke on a wide range of topics. This is very surprising, I mean, Sor Juana was a feminist before feminism.īecause of this, I feel it is important to acknowledge that Sor Juana not only focused on women’s rights to education and questioned the assumption of a connection between gender and intellectual activity––i.e. Even in feminist theory books her work does not appear. As a young Latinx woman student, I was 19 years old, reading Sor Juana gave me a sense of belonging––little did I know this was going to be the only time a Latinx woman philosopher would appear in one of my classes. We read Repuesta a Sor Filotea de la Cruz and discussed her views on women and education. In the eleven years I have been a philosophy student only once has Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz appeared in a class syllabus.
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