I. INTRODUCTION

Life is a journey and humans are creatures of transformation. The "Riddle of the Sphinx" asks, "What creature walks on four legs in the morning, on two at noon, and three in the evening". We humans are the answer, but we are also the puzzle. If the answer is so simple-'us'-why does it require thought? Why is it a puzzle at all? Shouldn't 'knowing oneself' be our easiest accomplishment? Far from it. This is where the journey begins. In the same way as no one person can know everything, no one person can ever know him- or herself completely. The journey for knowledge is as necessary as it is never ending.

As long as we live we must strive to understand our nature, because only through lifelong learning can we make informed decisions about what makes a life good and then choose to live it.

Western Heritage I embodies the core-the very center-of the liberal arts at Carthage College. In WH seminars we read, discuss and write about works so great that thousands of years after they were written we still believe that they speak to us today, and we are rewarded by investing the time necessary to read them carefully. These books not only show us where our intellectual tradition begins, but also help us to chart our journey into the future. By grappling them we begin a process of transformation into life-long learners as we journey into the very center of the questions "Who are we?" and "What do we want to become?"

This guide offers a preliminary and partial map to the intellectual landscape of the West. We will be exploring that world together. Before you approach these texts, your instructor will ask you to read the introduction to the work provided in this guide. The introductions have been designed to give you a framework, a context for the work, and a preview of the text.

By their nature, Heritage seminars represent the foundation of your Carthage experience. To gain the greatest benefits of the course, you must be engaged in it as actively as possible. Life requires active, not passive, participation. As adults and as enlightened participants in the Heritage Seminars, you will be responsible for meeting all the obligations outlined in this guide.

You may ask yourself: "Why do I have to take these required courses? What are they going to do for me?" In answer to those questions, if you look at the backgrounds of some of the most successful people, you will discover that their liberal arts education, which Western Heritage embodies, has given them an edge over their more narrowly trained peers.

Ultimately, the experiences you carry away from each seminar will set you on a path to life-long learning and a 21st-century mind. In the future you will come to cherish the time you spent in Western Heritage.

What gives value to travel is fear-the fear we feel when we encounter something foreign and are challenged to enlarge our thinking, our identity, our lives-the fear that lets us know we are on the brink of real learning.

Albert Camus