Abstract
The article deals with the emergence, formation and study of the category «simulacrum» in postmodern literature. The development of the concept «simulacrum» originated in antiquity and is reflected in the works of Plato and Epicurus, which later entered scientific circulation in the era of postmodernism with the establishment of the French philosopher J. Bataille. Studies of this concept are analyzed from a new perspective in the scientific works of the French philosophers J. Deleuze, J. Derrida and J. Baudrillard and placed in the broad context of describing the modern philosophical and socio-political situation. The activity of the simulacrum in society, politics, culture and literature is considered. The article analyzes the artistic activity of the simulacrum in modern Kazakh prose on the basis of the story «The Treasures of Bektor» by T. Asemkulov and the stories «The Eyes of Gioconda» by J. Korgasbek, «The Matrix» by D. Zhylkybai.