God loves the plagiarist. And so it is written, 'God created humankind in His image, in the image of God He created them. God is the original plagiarizer. With a lack of reasonable sources from which to filch - man created in the image of what? the animals? - the creation of man was an act of reflexive plagiarizing; God looted the mirror. When we plagiarize, we are likewise creating in the image and participating in the completion of Creation.
The quote from Jonathan Safran Foer's book "Everything Is Illuminated" suggests that the act of plagiarism is not inherently negative; it may instead reflect a divine aspect of creativity. Foer posits that God, being the original creator, acted as a plagiarist by creating humans in His own image. This assertion draws a parallel between divine creation and human imitation, suggesting that all creations stem from existing forms, and thus, plagiarism can be seen as an extension of the creative process.
In this view, when humans plagiarize, they are engaging in a similar act as God, participating in the ongoing act of creation. By borrowing from one another, we reflect the creative essence found in the original act of creation. This perspective challenges the traditional notion of plagiarism as purely unethical and instead positions it as a form of collaboration with the divine creative force, reinforcing the idea that imitation can lead to innovation and new forms of expression.
