This book explores cultural heritage not as a collection of protected objects, but as a philosophically grounded process of cultural continuity across time. Bringing together ten scholarly chapters, it reconstructs how different philosophical traditions—from antiquity and the Middle Ages to the European and American Enlightenment—have conceptualised value, memory, responsibility, and transmission. The volume introduces klironomy as a comprehensive framework that integrates philosophy of culture, philosophy of history, and heritage studies into a unified analytical perspective. Through comparative analysis, it reveals how ideas of canon, education, public reason, and civic responsibility have shaped enduring models of cultural preservation. Particular attention is given to regional traditions, including British, French, German, Dutch, Scandinavian, Eastern European, and American contexts. Rather than focusing on technical conservation, the book addresses the normative and ethical foundations that make cultural heritage meaningful and transmissible. This first part of the collection lays the philosophical groundwork for understanding cultural preservation as a forward-looking responsibility toward future generations.