With Great Creativity Comes Great Imitation:

Problems of Plagiarism and Knowledge

I. Creativity
- The use of the imagination or original ideas, especially in the production of an artistic
work
A. 2 Parts of Creativity
a. Originality:
The ability to think independently and creatively
b. Functionality:
The quality of being suited to serve a purpose well
B. Stages of Creativity by Daniel Burns
a. Discovery
b. Invention
c. Creation
II. Remixing / Recreation
A. Remix: a piece of media which has been altered from its original state by
adding, removing, and/or changing pieces of the item.
B. The only characteristic of a remix is that it appropriates and changes other
materials to create something new.
III. Plagiarism
A. to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one ’ s own;
B. to use (another ’ s production) without crediting the source;
C. to commit literary theft
D. to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing
source.
IV. Case Analysis
A. Heroes vs. X-Men

Heroes of Heroes Heroes of X-Men

● Claire Bennet’s ability to heal ● Wolverine’s ability to heal

● Peter Petrelli’s ability to ● Rogue’s ability to absorb
absorb evo’s powers powers from mutants
● Nathan Petrelli’s ability to fly ● Angel’s ability to fly

B. Heroes vs. Rising Star

Storyline of Heroes Storyline of Rising Star

● people are born with ● people are born with

superhuman abilities, and superhuman abilities, and the
the story follows the lives of story follows the lives of
these individuals as they these individuals as they
come to learn about their come to learn about their
powers and decide how best powers and decide how best
to use them. to use them. (7 years earlier
● Non - linear Narrative the premiere of Heroes)
● Non - linear Narrative

V. Tim Kring & Plagiarism

to commit literary theft Literary theft is to claim a the whole

literary work.

Tim Kring’s potentially “borrowed from”

comics are not considered “literary
work” which are basically the characters
and storylines.

to use (another ’ s production) without Plagiarism occurs when another product

crediting the source; is being used without citation.

For this type of plagiarism to have

occurred in the case of Heroes, the
show would have to contain a character
or a story arc created by someone not
on the Heroes staff. Again, the claims of
plagiarism made against the show are
more subtle than this. What is claimed is
that character traits and story points in
Heroes resemble those of other works,
while not being identical. 3 (Heroes and
Philosophy, Jason Southworth) p.52
 to steal and pass off (the ideas or words
of another) as one ’ s own;
to present as new and original an idea
or product derived from an existing
source.
(1) the ideas or content of one work
must appear in another, and (2) the
ideas or content must be used in the
second work with the intention of
deceiving others about the origin of the
material. (Heroes and Philosophy,
Jason Southworth) p.52

Most of the heroes in Heroes have

similarities with other comic book heroes
but that there was an intention on the
part of the creators to present these
aspects of the show as original when
they knew they were not.

VI. Accidental Plagiarism

A. Occurs when an individual presents the work of another as his own by
accident.
B. Can occur when an individual internalizes a preexisting idea or concept and
at the time of creation does not realize the material is actually the product of
the work of another person.
VII. Epistemic Responsibility
A. A desire for truth and for the avoidance of error
B. James Montmarquet - to be epistemically responsible a person must have a
desire for truth and for the avoidance of error. This responsibility extends
only to the areas in life that you care about and only to the degree to which
you care about them.

C. Three Epistemic Criteria for evaluating an individual

1. Impartiality - an openness to the ideas of others, the willingness to
exchange ideas with and learn from them, the lack of jealousy and
personal bias directed at their ideas and the lively sense of one ’ s
own fallibility
2. Sobriety - the actions of a person who, out of excitement and love of
new ideas, believes things that are not warranted, and who does not
consider the limits of his own evidence
 3. Courage - a willingness to consider alternatives to popularly held
beliefs and is the ability to continue an investigation in the face of
opposition from others.

VIII. Causes and Solutions to Plagiarism