近年有關「天人合一」觀念之爭議主要有兩大類，第一類是有關此觀念可否做為「中國哲學核心觀念」的爭議，持正反意見皆有，贊成者主張以天人合一做為中國哲學思維發展的主線；反對者則主張天人合一的「確切含義」我們無法掌握，進而反對相關主張。第二類爭議發生在對「天」內涵設定之差異，形成了側重「自然環境」與偏重「倫理價值」兩種思維。其中傾向自然環境者，強調中國哲學的「天人和諧」觀念，希能彰顯中國哲學於現代社會之價值；另一方面，傾向「倫理價值」的學者則堅持以「道德性命之學」為此觀念之原有內涵，反對因「現代環保訴求」之需要，硬性地更動傳統天人合一的意涵。 本文將以儒家文本為分析主軸，透過方法論檢討此兩類爭議，分別說明其觀點成立的可能背景，以及在何種狀態中將陷入觀念危機，導致天人合一的不可能。結論將指出在詮釋現代中國哲學歷程中，透過方法論閻明此「觀念成立之哲學背景」以及說明如何定位「天觀念正確之理論位置」本文認為此一研究歷程是解決此類爭議的必要條件。

the idea of ”union between heaven and man” gives rise to two types of controversies: the first is concerned with whether the idea in question is a central concept of Chinese philosophy; some believe that it forms the main line of development in Chinese philosophy, while others reject this opinion and believe that the precise meaning of union can never be grasped. The second controversy concerns the connotation of ”heaven”, the emphasis of which can be placed either on the natural environment or on the value of ethics. Some scholars who stress natural environment suggest that the relationship between heaven and man is harmonious in order to manifest the modem value of Chinese philosophy, whereas others, focusing on the ethical aspect, insist that its original content consists in the moral nature of ”heaven”. Thus understood, they oppose any modification of the idea of union in order to meet the need for modem environment-protection awareness. This paper, based on Confucian texts, attempts to methodically scrutinize these two types of controversies in order to demonstrate the background which forms these two opposite opinions and elucidate the precarious situation in which these two opinions may lead to the impossibility of union between heaven and man. The route from illustrating the ”philosophical background from which ideas originate” to establishing ”the theoretically appropriate position of heaven” is the process that we shall follow in order to bring about a solution to these controversies.