The Past Is Our Future: What Makes for an Everlasting Idea?

Writer and biographer James Atlas moderates a panel discussion about the concept of an “everlasting idea.” Atlas’ biography of Saul Bellow, Bellow: A Biography, was released earlier in 2000. Panelists include Elizabeth Hardwick, an author, literary critic, and biographer of Herman Melville; Peter Gay, a historian and biographer of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; and Sherwin Nuland, a surgeon, professor, and biographer of Leonardo Da Vinci. This event is part of the lecture series, Our Life and Times. Each panelist gives brief remarks followed by a moderated discussion. Gay comments on the duality of human nature, acknowledging that all great ideas and people don’t stand alone. Hardwick focuses on the theme of the series, “Our Life and Times,” and provides a journalistic commentary on the state of the modern world. Nuland comments on the idea of the genius and argues that an “everlasting idea does not have to be known in its time.” The discussion includes questions from the audience.