From Questioning the Mandate of Heaven to Deconstructing the Heavenly Way: A Problem-Oriented Philosophical Analysis of the Heaven–Human Structure

Adopting a problem-oriented approach, this study offers a systematic re-evaluation of Heaven (Tian), the Mandate of Heaven, and Heaven–Human Resonance in classical Chinese thought. It argues that Heaven is not an entity-like transcendent being, but an ethical–symbolic space generated through the recurrent dynamic of obedience and exposure. The Mandate of Heaven is shown to be not a divinely bestowed norm, but a practical norm formed through sustained critical practices that expose powers falsely claiming heavenly authorization; its legitimacy is grounded in the subject’s moral reflection rather than in any a priori divine grant. By analyzing the mechanism of such false invocations of Heaven, the study reveals that the transcendence of Heaven takes the form of an “ethical otherness” endowed with resistant force, capable of checking all usurping authorities. It further criticizes Heaven–Human Resonance for enclosing difference within a homogeneous causal chain and argues for preserving the openness of questioning, so that the Heaven–Human structure retains its generative vitality of critique and creation. The paper’s innovation lies in reinterpreting the transcendence of Heaven through an anti-authoritarian logic of normative generation, transforming it from a metaphysical entity into a continuously operative critical structure.