This work examines the philosophies and theologies of three thinkers—Chu Hsi, Alfred North Whitehead, and Robert C. Neville—separated by time, space, and culture. In so doing John H. Berthrong provides a suggestive and successful comparison of creativity as a cross-cultural theme while introducing Neo-Confucianism as a sophisticated dialogue partner with modern Western speculative philosophy and theology.

Creativity lies at the heart of the discourse of Chu Hsi (1130–1200) and Alfred North Whitehead. For both, creativity emerges as an attempt to illustrate the organic unity of the world without resorting to an appeal to a source for creativity beyond the concrete actuality of the cosmos. Subtle critics such as Robert C. Neville argue that process thought is fatally flawed because Whitehead separated creativity from the other crucial elements of his system. By interjecting the Chinese Neo-Confucian synthesis of Chu Hsi, it is possible to show how creativity can be re-integrated into process discourse as creative synthesis.