Are LLMs Creative?

This paper applies Paul Ricoeur’s threefold mimesis to compare Large Language Models (LLMs) and human semantic innovation. While some studies suggest LLMs match human creativity, a broader hermeneutical approach reveals fundamental differences. Examining prefiguration, configuration, and refiguration, we identify two key distinctions. First, LLMs lack the embodied experience of time that grounds human innovation, operating through mimesis lexios (imitation of language) rather than mimesis praxeos (imitation of action). Second, following Ricoeur, we argue LLM outputs require human interpretation to constitute genuine semantic innovation. While LLMs configure narratives, their creative potential remains tied to human-embodied experience of time and interpretative engagement since the semantic arc starts in human action and includes the refiguration of meaning through the reading process. These findings should inform debates on computational creativity and AI-human collaboration in meaning-making.