In This Is Not a Copy, Kaja Marczewska identifies a characteristic 'copy-paste' tendency in contemporary culture-a shift in attitude that allows reproduction and plagiarizing to become a norm in cultural production. This inclination can be observed in literature and non-literary forms of writing at an unprecedented level, as experiments with text redefine the nature of creativity. Responding to these transformations, Marczewska argues that we must radically rethink our conceptions of artistic practice and proposes a move away from the familiar categories of copying and originality, creativity and plagiarism in favour of the notion of iteration. Developing the new concept of the Iterative Turn, This Is Not a Copy identifies and theorizes the turn toward ubiquitous iteration as a condition of text-based creative practices as they emerge in response to contemporary technologies. Conceiving of writing as iterative invites us to address a set of new, critical questions about contemporary culture. Combining discussion of literature, experimental and electronic writing, mainstream and independent publishing with debates in 20th- and 21st-century art, contemporary media culture, transforming technologies and copyright laws, This Is Not a Copy offers a timely and urgently needed argument, introducing a unique new perspective on practices that permeate our contemporary culture.

Be faithful and mind your word. Be original not a copy; let your word proof your personality and make difference by your truth. Many people have lost their dignity and their glory through their words. Others have disgraced themselves by their lies. The world is going into destruction through lies of those who dwell on it, and the truth has to tremble on the ground. Do not force your words to be factual whiles know you are deceiving. Be faithful but not a liar; be gentle but not a pretender, be smart but not as a thief. Maintain your faithfulness and do not lie for a favour but approve yourself for good use. Never put yourself into trouble through lies but consider your speech and make your words fruitful. Let your words be simple and meaningful to your audience. Do not rush in your speech but be careful when delivering a message. It is not good to shout but it is good to blend in some time. But in all, do not lie when giving out your message. It is better to make simple messages than to prolong your message. Why because it is possible to make a mistake and lie at the same time. Be aware and make things decent but do not disgrace yourself in the area you have not been there before. Means do not discuss the lessons you do not understand. Else, you will lie and disgrace yourself through inconsistent speech. But always watch out and control yourself in position without wrong comments later on. Faithfulness controls peace and makes things better and encouraging. Do not make news where there are no happenings. Do not pollute the air by your false message but make the air blow at ease. Be faithful when you buy; be faithful when you exchange, be faithful when you walk and talk. You can build a city by faithfulness and you can destroy the city through unfaithfulness.

This book is devoted to a deceptively simple but original argument: that copying is an essential part of being human, that the ability to copy is worthy of celebration, and that, without recognizing how integral copying is to being human, we cannot understand ourselves or the world we live in. In spite of the laws, stigmas, and anxieties attached to it, the word “copying” permeates contemporary culture, shaping discourse on issues from hip hop to digitization to gender reassignment, and is particularly crucial in legal debates concerning intellectual property and copyright. Yet as a philosophical concept, copying remains poorly understood. Working comparatively across cultures and times, Marcus Boon undertakes an examination of what this word means—historically, culturally, philosophically—and why it fills us with fear and fascination. He argues that the dominant legal-political structures that define copying today obscure much broader processes of imitation that have constituted human communities for ages and continue to shape various subcultures today. Drawing on contemporary art, music and film, the history of aesthetics, critical theory, and Buddhist philosophy and practice, In Praise of Copying seeks to show how and why copying works, what the sources of its power are, and the political stakes of renegotiating the way we value copying in the age of globalization.

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Humans are extraordinary creatures, with the unique ability among animals to imitate and so copy from one another ideas, habits, skills, behaviours, inventions, songs, and stories. These are all memes, a term first coined by Richard Dawkins in 1976 in his book The Selfish Gene. Memes, like genes, are replicators, and this enthralling book is an investigation of whether this link between genes and memes can lead to important discoveries about the nature of the inner self.Confronting the deepest questions about our inner selves, with all our emotions, memories, beliefs, and decisions, Susan Blackmore makes a compelling case for the theory that the inner self is merely an illusion created by the memes for the sake of replication.