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 Chapter 9 Database Design

Chapter 9
Database Design
Discussion Focus

What is the relationship between a database and an information system, and how does this
relationship have a bearing on database design?

An information system performs three sets of services:

 It provides for data collection, storage, and retrieval.
 It facilitates the transformation of data into information.
 It provides the tools and conditions to manage both data and information.

Basically, a database is a fact (data) repository that serves an information system. If the database is designed
poorly, one can hardly expect that the data/information transformation will be successful, nor is it reasonable
to expect efficient and capable management of data and information.

The transformation of data into information is accomplished through application programs. It is impossible
to produce good information from poor data; and, no matter how sophisticated the application programs are,
it is impossible to use good application programs to overcome the effects of bad database design. In short:
Good database design is the foundation of a successful information system.

Database design must yield a database that:

 Does not fall prey to uncontrolled data duplication, thus preventing data anomalies and the attendant
lack of data integrity.
 Is efficient in its provision of data access.
 Serves the needs of the information system.

The last point deserves emphasis: even the best-designed database lacks value if it fails to meet information
system objectives. In short, good database designers must pay close attention to the information system
requirements.

Systems design and database design are usually tightly intertwined and are often performed in parallel.
Therefore, database and systems designers must cooperate and coordinate to yield the best possible
information system.

What is the relationship between the SDLC and the DBLC?

The SDLC traces the history (life cycle) of an information system. The DBLC traces the history (life cycle)
of a database system. Since we know that the database serves the information system, it is not surprising that
the two life cycles conform to the same basic phases.

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 Chapter 9 Database Design

Suggestion: Use Figure 9.8 as the basis for a discussion of the parallel activities.

What basic database design strategies exist, and how are such strategies executed?

Suggestion: Use Figure 9.14 as the basis for this discussion.

There are two basic approaches to database design: top-down and bottom-up.

Top-down design begins by identifying the different entity types and the definition of each entity's attributes.
In other words, top-down design:
 starts by defining the required data sets and then
 defines the data elements for each of those data sets.

Bottom-up design:
 first defines the required attributes and then
 groups the attributes to form entities.

Although the two methodologies tend to be complementary, database designers who deal with small
databases with relatively few entities, attributes, and transactions tend to emphasize the bottom-up
approach. Database designers who deal with large, complex databases usually find that a primarily top-down
design approach is more appropriate.

In spite of the frequent arguments concerning the best design approach, perhaps the top-down vs. bottom-up
distinction is quite artificial. The text's note is worth repeating:

NOTE
Even if a generally top-down approach is selected, the normalization process that revises existing
table structures is (inevitably) a bottom-up technique. E-R models constitute a top-down process
even if the selection of attributes and entities may be described as bottom-up. Since both the E-R
model and normalization techniques form the basis for most designs, the top-down vs. bottom-up
debate may be based on a distinction without a difference.

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Answers to Review Questions

1. What is an information system? What is its purpose?

An information system is a system that

 provides the conditions for data collection, storage, and retrieval
 facilitates the transformation of data into information
 provides management of both data and information.

An information system is composed of hardware, software (DBMS and applications), the database(s),
procedures, and people.

Good decisions are generally based on good information. Ultimately, the purpose of an information
system is to facilitate good decision making by making relevant and timely information available to the
decision makers.

2. How do systems analysis and systems development fit into a discussion about information systems?

Both systems analysis and systems development constitute part of the Systems Development Life Cycle,
or SDLC. Systems analysis, phase II of the SDLC, establishes the need for and the extent of an
information system by
 Establishing end-user requirements.
 Evaluating the existing system.
 Developing a logical systems design.

Systems development, based on the detailed systems design found in phase III of the SDLC, yields the
information system. The detailed system specifications are established during the systems design phase,
in which the designer completes the design of all required system processes.

3. What does the acronym SDLC mean, and what does an SDLC portray?

SDLC is the acronym that is used to label the System Development Life Cycle. The SDLC traces the
history of a information system from its inception to its obsolescence. The SDLC is composed of six
phases: planning, analysis, detailed system, design, implementation and maintenance.

4. What does the acronym DBLC mean, and what does a DBLC portray?

DBLC is the acronym that is used to label the Database Life Cycle. The DBLC traces the history of a
database system from its inception to its obsolescence. Since the database constitutes the core of an
information system, the DBLC is concurrent to the SDLC. The DBLC is composed of six phases: initial
study, design, implementation and loading, testing and evaluation, operation, and maintenance and
evolution.

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5. Discuss the distinction between centralized and decentralized conceptual database design.

Centralized and decentralized design constitute variations on the bottom-up and top-down approaches
we discussed in the third question presented in the discussion focus. Basically, the centralized approach
is best suited to relatively small and simple databases that lend themselves well to a bird's-eye view of
the entire database. Such databases may be designed by a single person or by a small and informally
constituted design team. The company operations and the scope of its problems are sufficiently limited to
enable the designer(s) to perform all of the necessary database design tasks:

1. Define the problem(s).

2. Create the conceptual design.
3. Verify the conceptual design with all user views.
4. Define all system processes and data constraints.
5. Assure that the database design will comply with all achievable end user requirements.

The centralized design procedure thus yields the design summary shown in Figure Q9.5A.

Figure Q9.5A The Centralized Design Procedure

D
A
Conceptual Model T
A

D
I
Conceptual Model Verification C
T
I
User System Data O
Views Processes Constraints N
A
R
Y

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Note that the centralized design approach requires the completion and validation of a single conceptual
design.

NOTE
Use the text’s Figures 9.15 and 9.16 to contrast the two design approaches, then use Figure 9.6
to show the procedure flows; demonstrate that such procedure flows are independent of the
degree of centralization.

In contrast, when company operations are spread across multiple operational sites or when the database
has multiple entities that are subject to complex relations, the best approach is often based on the
decentralized design.

Typically, a decentralized design requires that the design task be divided into multiple modules, each one
of which is assigned to a design team. The design team activities are coordinated by the lead designer,
who must aggregate the design teams' efforts.

Since each team focuses on modeling a subset of the system, the definition of boundaries and the
interrelation between data subsets must be very precise. Each team creates a conceptual data model
corresponding to the subset being modeled. Each conceptual model is then verified individually against
the user views, processes, and constraints for each of the modules. After the verification process has
been completed, all modules are integrated in one conceptual model.

Since the data dictionary describes the characteristics of all the objects within the conceptual data model,
it plays a vital role in the integration process. Naturally, after the subsets have been aggregated into a
larger conceptual model, the lead designer must verify that the combined conceptual model is still able to
support all the required transactions. Thus the decentralized design activities may be summarized as
shown in Figure Q8.6B.

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Figure Q9.6B The Decentralized Design Procedure

DATA COMPONENT

Conceptual D
Models Subset A Subset B Subset C
A
T
A
Views, Views, Views,
Verification Processes, Processes, Processes, D
Constraints Constraints Constraints I
C
T
I
Aggregation O
N
A
R
FINAL CONCEPTUAL MODEL Y

Keep in mind that the aggregation process requires the lead designer to assemble a single model in which
various aggregation problems must be addressed:
 synonyms and homonyms. Different departments may know the same object by different names
(synonyms), or they may use the same name to address different objects (homonyms.) The object
may be an entity, an attribute, or a relationship.
 entity and entity subclasses. An entity subset may be viewed as a separate entity by one or more
departments. The designer must integrate such subclasses into a higher-level entity.
 Conflicting object definitions. Attributes may be recorded as different types (character, numeric),
or different domains may be defined for the same attribute. Constraint definitions, too, may vary.
The designer must remove such conflicts from the model.

6. What is the minimal data rule in conceptual design? Why is it important?

The minimal data rule specifies that all the data defined in the data model are actually required to fit
present and expected future data requirements. This rule may be phrased as All that is needed is
there, and all that is there is needed.

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7. Discuss the distinction between top-down and bottom-up approaches to database design.

There are two basic approaches to database design: top-down and bottom-up.

Top-down design begins by identifying the different entity types and the definition of each entity's
attributes. In other words, top-down design:
 starts by defining the required data sets and then
 defines the data elements for each of those data sets.

Bottom-up design:
 first defines the required attributes and then
 groups the attributes to form entities.

Although the two methodologies tend to be complementary, database designers who deal with small
databases with relatively few entities, attributes, and transactions tend to emphasize the bottom-up
approach. Database designers who deal with large, complex databases usually find that a primarily
top-down design approach is more appropriate.

8. What are business rules? Why are they important to a database designer?

Business rules are narrative descriptions of the business policies, procedures, or principles that are
derived from a detailed description of operations. Business rules are particularly valuable to database
designers, because they help define:
 Entities
 Attributes
 Relationships (1:1, 1:M, M:N, expressed through connectivities and cardinalities)
 Constraints

To develop an accurate data model, the database designer must have a thorough and complete
understanding of the organization's data requirements. The business rules are very important to the
designer because they enable the designer to fully understand how the business works and what role is
played by data within company operations.

NOTE
Do keep in mind that an ERD cannot always include all the applicable business rules. For
example, although constraints are often crucial, it is often not possible to model them. For
instance, there is no way to model a constraint such as “no pilot may be assigned to flight duties
more than ten hours during any 24-hour period.”

It is also worth emphasizing that the description of (company) operations must be done in
almost excruciating detail and it must be verified and re-verified. An inaccurate description of
operations yields inaccurate business rules that lead to database designs that are destined to
fail.

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9. What is the data dictionary's function in database design?

A good data dictionary provides a precise description of the characteristics of all the entities and
attributes found within the database. The data dictionary thus makes it easier to check for the existence
of synonyms and homonyms, to check whether all attributes exist to support required reports, to verify
appropriate relationship representations, and so on. The data dictionary's contents are both developed and
used during the six DBLC phases:

DATABASE INITIAL STUDY

The basic data dictionary components are developed as the entities and attributes are defined during this
phase.

DATABASE DESIGN
The data dictionary contents are used to verify the database design components: entities, attributes, and
their relationships. The designer also uses the data dictionary to check the database design for
homonyms and synonyms and verifies that the entities and attributes will support all required query and
report requirements.

IMPLEMENTATION AND LOADING

The DBMS's data dictionary helps to resolve any remaining attribute definition inconsistencies.

TESTING AND EVALUATION

If problems develop during this phase, the data dictionary contents may be used to help restructure the
basic design components to make sure that they support all required operations.

OPERATION
If the database design still yields (the almost inevitable) operational glitches, the data dictionary may be
used as a quality control device to ensure that operational modifications to the database do not conflict
with existing components.

MAINTENANCE AND EVOLUTION

As users face inevitable changes in information needs, the database may be modified to support those
needs. Perhaps entities, attributes, and relationships must be added, or relationships must be changed. If
new database components are fit into the design, their introduction may produce conflict with existing
components. The data dictionary turns out to be a very useful tool to check whether a suggested change
invites conflicts within the database design and, if so, how such conflicts may be resolved.

10. What steps are required in the development of an ER diagram? (Hint: See Table 9.3.)

Table 9.3 is reproduced for your convenience.

TABLE 9.3 Developing the Conceptual Model, Using ER Diagrams

STEP ACTIVITY
1 Identify, analyze, and refine the business rules.
2 Identify the main entities, using the results of Step 1.

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3 Define the relationships among the entities, using the results of Steps 1 and 2.
4 Define the attributes, primary keys, and foreign keys for each of the entities.
5 Normalize the entities. (Remember that entities are implemented as tables in an RDBMS.)
6 Complete the initial ER diagram.
7 Validate the ER model against the user’s information and processing requirements.
8 Modify the ER diagram, using the results of Step 7.

Point out that some of the steps listed in Table 9.3 take place concurrently. And some, such as the
normalization process, can generate a demand for additional entities and/or attributes, thereby causing
the designer to revise the ER model. For example, while identifying two main entities, the designer
might also identify the composite bridge entity that represents the many-to-many relationship between
those two main entities.

11. List and briefly explain the activities involved in the verification of an ER model.

Section 9-4c, “Data Model Verification,” includes a discussion on verification. In addition, Appendix C,
“The University Lab: Conceptual Design Verification, Logical Design, and Implementation,” covers the
verification process in detail. The verification process is detailed in the text’s Table 9.5, reproduced here
for your convenience.

TABLE 9.5 The ER Model Verification Process

STEP ACTIVITY
1 Identify the ER model’s central entity.
2 Identify each module and its components.
3 Identify each module’s transaction requirements:
Internal: Updates/Inserts/Deletes/Queries/Reports
External: Module interfaces
4 Verify all processes against the ER model.
5 Make all necessary changes suggested in Step 4.
6 Repeat Steps 2−5 for all modules.

Keep in mind that the verification process requires the continuous verification of business transactions as
well as system and user requirements. The verification sequence must be repeated for each of the
system’s modules.

12. What factors are important in a DBMS software selection?

The selection of DBMS software is critical to the information system’s smooth operation. Consequently,
the advantages and disadvantages of the proposed DBMS software should be carefully studied. To avoid
false expectations, the end user must be made aware of the limitations of both the DBMS and the
database.

Although the factors affecting the purchasing decision vary from company to company, some of the most
common are:

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 Chapter 9 Database Design

 Cost. Purchase, maintenance, operational, license, installation, training, and conversion costs.
 DBMS features and tools. Some database software includes a variety of tools that facilitate the
application development task. For example, the availability of query by example (QBE), screen
painters, report generators, application generators, data dictionaries, and so on, helps to create a
more pleasant work environment for both the end user and the application programmer. Database
administrator facilities, query facilities, ease of use, performance, security, concurrency control,
transaction processing, and third-party support also influence DBMS software selection.
 Underlying model. Hierarchical, network, relational, object/relational, or object.
 Portability. Across platforms, systems, and languages.
 DBMS hardware requirements. Processor(s), RAM, disk space, and so on.

13. List and briefly explain the four steps performed during the logical design stage.
1) Map conceptual model to logical model components.
In this step, the conceptual model is converted into a set of table definitions including table names,
column names, primary keys, and foreign keys to implement the entities and relationships specified in
the conceptual design.
2) Validate the logical model using normalization.
It is possible for normalization issues to be discovered during the process of mapping the conceptual
model to logical model components. Therefore, it is appropriate at this stage to validate that all of the
table definitions from the previous step conform to the appropriate normalization rules.
3) Validate logical model integrity constraints.
This step involves the conversion of attribute domains and constraints into constraint definitions that
can be implemented within the DBMS to enforce those domains. Also, entity and referential integrity
constraints are validated. Views may be defined to enforce security constraints.
4) Validate the logical model against the user requirements.
The final step of this stage is to ensure that all definitions created throughout the logical model are
validated against the users' data, transaction, and security requirements. Every component (table,
view, constraint, etc.) of the logical model must be associated with satisfying the user requirements,
and every user requirement should be addressed by the model components.

14. List and briefly explain the three steps performed during the physical design stage.

1) Define data storage organization.

Based on estimates of the data volume and growth, this step involves the determination of the
physical location and physical organization for each table. Also, which columns will be indexed and
the type of indexes to be used are determined. Finally, the type of implementation to be used for each
view is decided.
2) Define integrity and security measures.
This step involves creating users and security groups, and then assigning privileges and controls to
those users and group.
3) Determine performance measurements.
The actual performance of the physical database implementation must be measured and assessed for
compliance with user performance requirements.

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 Chapter 9 Database Design

15. What three levels of backup may be used in database recovery management? Briefly describe
what each of those three backup levels does.

A full backup of the database creates a backup copy of all database objects in their entirety.
A differential backup of the database creates a backup of only those database objects that have changed
since the last full backup.
A transaction log backup does not create a backup of database objects, but makes a backup of the log
of changes that have been applied to the database objects since the last backup.

Problem Solutions

1. The ABC Car Service & Repair Centers are owned by the SILENT car dealer; ABC services and
repairs only SILENT cars. Three ABC Car Service & Repair Centers provide service and repair
for the entire state.

Each of the three centers is independently managed and operated by a shop manager, a
receptionist, and at least eight mechanics. Each center maintains a fully stocked parts inventory.
Each center also maintains a manual file system in which each car’s maintenance history is kept:
repairs made, parts used, costs, service dates, owner, and so on. Files are also kept to track
inventory, purchasing, billing, employees’ hours, and payroll.

You have been contacted by the manager of one of the centers to design and implement a
computerized system. Given the preceding information, do the following:

a. Indicate the most appropriate sequence of activities by labeling each of the following steps in
the correct order. (For example, if you think that “Load the database.” is the appropriate first
step, label it “1.”)

____ Normalize the conceptual model.

____ Obtain a general description of company operations.
____ Load the database.
____ Create a description of each system process.
____ Test the system.
____ Draw a data flow diagram and system flowcharts.
____ Create a conceptual model, using ER diagrams.
____ Create the application programs.
____ Interview the mechanics.
____ Create the file (table) structures.
____ Interview the shop manager.

The answer to this question may vary slightly from one designer to the next, depending on the selected
design methodology and even on personal designer preferences. Yet, in spite of such differences, it is
possible to develop a common design methodology to permit the development of a basic
decision-making process and the analysis required in designing an information system.

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 Chapter 9 Database Design

Whatever the design philosophy, a good designer uses a specific and ordered set of steps through which
the database design problem is approached. The steps are generally based on three phases: analysis,
design, and implementation. These phases yield the following activities:

ANALYSIS
1. Interview the shop manager
2. Interview the mechanics
3. Obtain a general description of company operations
4. Create a description of each system process

DESIGN
5. Create a conceptual model, using E-R diagrams
6. 8. Draw a data flow diagram and system flow charts
7. Normalize the conceptual model

IMPLEMENTATION
8. Create the table structures
9. Load the database
10. Create the application programs
11. Test the system.

This listing implies that, within each of the three phases, the steps are completed in a specific order. For
example, it would seem reasonable to argue that we must first complete the interviews if we are to obtain
a proper description of the company operations. Similarly, we may argue that a data flow diagram
precedes the creation of the E-R diagram. Nevertheless, the specific tasks and the order in which they are
addressed may vary. Such variations do not matter, as long as the designer bases the selected procedures
on an appropriate design philosophy, such as top-down vs. bottom-up.

Given this discussion, we may present problem 1's solution this way:

__7__ Normalize the conceptual model.

__3__ Obtain a general description of company operations.

__9__ Load the database.

__4__ Create a description of each system process.

_11__ Test the system.

__6__ Draw a data flow diagram and system flow charts.

__5__ Create a conceptual model, using E-R diagrams.

_10__ Create the application programs.

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 Chapter 9 Database Design

__2__ Interview the mechanics.

__8__ Create the file (table) structures.

__1__ Interview the shop manager.

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 Chapter 9 Database Design

b. Describe the various modules that you believe the system should include.

This question may be addressed in several ways. We suggest the following approach to develop a
system composed of four main modules: Inventory, Payroll, Work order, and Customer.

We have illustrated the Information System's main modules in Figure P9.1B.

Figure P9.1B The ABC Company’s IS System Modules

The Inventory module will include the Parts and Purchasing sub-modules. The Payroll Module will
handle all employee and payroll information. The Work order module keeps track of the car
maintenance history and all work orders for maintenance done on a car. The Customer module keeps
track of the billing of the work orders to the customers and of the payments received from those
customers.

c. How will a data dictionary help you develop the system? Give examples.

We have addressed the role of the data dictionary within the DBLC in detail in the answer to review
question 10. Remember that the data dictionary makes it easier to check for the existence of
synonyms and homonyms, to check whether all attributes exist to support required reports, to verify
appropriate relationship representations, and so on. Therefore, the data dictionary's contents will help
us to provide consistency across modules and to evaluate the system's ability to generate the required
reports. In addition, the use of the data dictionary facilitates the creation of system documentation.

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 Chapter 9 Database Design

d. What general (system) recommendations might you make to the shop manager? (For example.
if the system will be integrated, what modules will be integrated? What benefits would be
derived from such an integrated system? Include several general recommendations.)

The designer's job is to provide solutions to the main problems found during the initial study.
Clearly, any system is subject to both internal and external constraints. For example, we can safely
assume that the owner of the ABC Car Service and Repair Center has a time frame in mind, not to
mention a spending limitation. As is true in all design work, the designer and the business owner
must prioritize the modules and develop those that yield the greatest benefit within the stated time
and development budget constraints.

Keep in mind that it is always useful to develop a modular system that provides for future
enhancement and expansion. Suppose, for example, that the ABC Car Service & Repair company
management decides to integrate all of its service stations in the state in order to provide better
statewide service. Such integration is likely to yield many benefits: The car history of each car will
be available to any station for cars that have been serviced in more than one location; the inventory
of parts will be on-line, thus allowing parts orders to be placed between service stations; mechanics
can better share tips concerning the solution to car maintenance problems, and so on.

e. What is the best approach to conceptual database design? Why?

Given the nature of this business, the best way to produce this conceptual database design would be
to use a centralized and top-down approach. Keep in mind that the designer must keep the design
sufficiently flexible to make sure that it can accommodate any future integration of this system with
the other service stations in the state.

f. Name and describe at least four reports the system should have. Explain their use. Who will
use those reports?
REPORT 1
Monthly Activity contains a summary of service categories by branch and by month. Such reports
may become the basis for forecasting personnel and stock requirements for each branch and for each
period.
REPORT 2
Mechanic Summary Sheet contains a summary of work hours clocked by each mechanic. This
report would be generated weekly and would be useful for payroll and maintenance personnel
scheduling purposes.
REPORT 3
Monthly Inventory contains a summary of parts in inventory, inventory draw-down, parts reorder
points, and information about the vendors who will provide the parts to be reordered. This report will
be especially useful for inventory management purposes.
REPORT 4
Customer Activity contains a breakdown of customers by location, maintenance activity, current
balances, available credit, and so on. This report would be useful to forecast various service demand

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factors, to mail promotional materials, to send maintenance reminders, to keep track of special
customer requirements, and so on.

2. Suppose you have been asked to create an information system for a manufacturing plant that
produces nuts and bolts of many shapes, sizes, and functions. What questions would you ask, and
how would the answers to those questions affect the database design?

Basically, all answers to all (relevant) questions help shape the database design. In fact, all information
collected during the initial study and all subsequent phases will have an impact on the database design.
Keep in mind that the information is collected to establish the entities, attributes, and the relationships
among the entities. Specifically, the relationships, connectivities, and cardinalities are shaped by the
business rules that are derived from the information collected by the designer.

Sample questions and their likely impact on the design might be:
 Do you want to develop the database for all departments at once, or do you want to design and
implement the database for one department at a time?
 How will the design approach affect the design process? (In other words, assess top-down vs.
bottom-up, centralized or decentralized, system scope and boundaries.)
 Do you want to develop one module at a time, or do you want an integrated system? (Inventory,
production, shipping, billing, etc.)
 Do you want to keep track of the nuts and bolts by lot number, production shift, type, and
department? Impact: conceptual and logical database design.
 Do you want to keep track of the suppliers of each batch of raw material used in the production
of the nuts and bolts? Impact: conceptual and logical database design. E-R model.
 Do you want to keep track of the customers who received the batches of nuts and bolts? Impact:
conceptual and logical database design. ER model.
 What reports will you require, what will be the specific reporting requirements, and to whom will
these reports be distributed?

The answers to such questions affect the conceptual and logical database design, the database’s
implementation, its testing, and its subsequent operation.

a. What do you envision the SDLC to be?

The SDLC is not a function of the information collected. Regardless of the extent of the design or its
specific implementation, the SDLC phases remain:

PLANNING
Initial assessment
Feasibility study

ANALYSIS
User requirements
Study of existing systems
Logical system design

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DETAILED SYSTEMS DESIGN

Detailed system specifications

IMPLEMENTATION
Coding, testing, debugging
Installation, fine-tuning

MAINTENANCE
Evaluation
Maintenance
Enhancements

b. What do you envision the DBLC to be?

As is true for the SDLC, the DBLC is not a function of the kind and extent of the collected
information. Thus, the DBLC phases and their activities remain as shown:

DATABASE INITIAL STUDY

Analyze the company situation
Define problems and constraints
Define objectives
Define scope and boundaries

DATABASE DESIGN
Create the conceptual design
Create the logical design
create the physical design

IMPLEMENTATION AND LOADING

Install the DBMS
Create the database(s)
Load or convert the data

TESTING AND EVALUATION

Test the database
Fine-tune the database
Evaluate the database and its application programs

OPERATION
Produce the required information flow

MAINTENANCE AND EVOLUTION

Introduce changes
Make enhancements

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3. Suppose you perform the same functions noted in Problem 2 for a larger warehousing operation.
How are the two sets of procedures similar? How and why are they different?

The development of an information system will differ in the approach and philosophy used. More
precisely, the designer team will probably be formed by a group of system analysts and may decide to
use a decentralized approach to database design.

Also, as is true for any organization, the system scope and constraints may be very different for different
systems. Therefore, designers may opt to use different techniques at different stages. For example, the
database initial study phase may include separate studies carried out by separate design teams at several
geographically distant locations. Each of the findings of the design teams will later be integrated to
identify the main problems, solutions, and opportunities that will guide the design and development of
the system.

4. Using the same procedures and concepts employed in Problem 1, how would you create an
information system for the Tiny College example in Chapter 4?

Tiny College is a medium-sized educational institution that uses many database-intensive operations,
such as student registration, academic administration, inventory management, and payroll. To create an
information system, first perform an initial database study to determine the information system's
objectives.

Next, study Tiny College's operations and processes (flow of data) to identify the main problems,
constraints, and opportunities. A precise definition of the main problems and constraints will enable the
designer to make sure that the design improves Tiny College's operational efficiency. An improvement
in operational efficiency is likely to create opportunities to provide new services that will enhance Tiny
College's competitive position.

After the initial database study is done and the alternative solutions are presented, the end users
ultimately decide which one of the probable solutions is most appropriate for Tiny College. Keep in
mind that the development of a system this size will probably involve people who have quite different
backgrounds. For example, it is likely that the designer must work with people who play a managerial
role in communications and local area networks, as well as with the "troops in the trenches" such as
programmers and system operators. The designer should, therefore, expect that there will be a wide range
of opinions concerning the proposed system's features. It is the designer's job to reconcile the many (and
often conflicting) views of the "ideal" system.

Once a proposed solution has been agreed upon, the designer(s) may determine the proposed system's
scope and boundaries. We are then able to begin the design phase. As the design phase begins, keep in
mind that Tiny College's information system is likely to be used by many users (20 to 40 minimum) who
are located on distant sites across campus. Therefore, the designer must consider a range of
communication issues involving the use of such technologies as local area networks. These technologies
must be considered as the database designer(s) begin to develop the structure of the database to be
implemented.

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The remaining development work conforms to the SDLC and the DBLC phases. Special attention must
be given to the system design's implementation and testing to ensure that all the system modules
interface properly.

Finally, the designer(s) must provide all the appropriate system documentation and ensure that all
appropriate system maintenance procedures (periodic backups, security checks, etc.) are in place to
ensure the system's proper operation.

Keep in mind that two very important issues in a university-wide system are end-user training and
support. Therefore, the system designer(s) must make sure that all end users know the system and know
how it is to be used to enjoy its benefits. In other words, make sure that end-user support programs are in
place when the system becomes operational.

5. Write the proper sequence of activities in the design of a video rental database. (The initial ERD
was shown in Figure 9.9.) The design must support all rental activities, customer payment
tracking, and employee work schedules, as well as track which employees checked out the videos
to the customers. After you finish writing the design activity sequence, complete the ERD to ensure
that the database design can be successfully implemented. (Make sure that the design is normalized
properly and that it can support the required transactions.

Given its level of detail and (relative) complexity, this problem would make an excellent class project.
Use the chapter’s coverage of the database life cycle (DBLC) as the procedural template. The text’s
Figure 9.3 is particularly useful as a procedural map for this problem’s solution and Figure 9.6 provides a
more detailed view of the database design’s procedural flow. Make sure that the students review section
9-3b, “Database Design,” before they attempt to produce the problem solution.

Appendix B, “The University Lab: Conceptual Design,” and Appendix C “The University Lab:
Conceptual Design Verification, Logical Design, and Implementation” show a very detailed example of
the procedures required to deliver a completed database. You will find a more detailed video rental
database problem description in Appendix B, problem 4. This problem requires the completion of the
initial database design. The solution is shown in this manual’s Appendix B coverage. This design is
verified in Appendix C, Problem 2.

The Visio Professional files for the initial and verified designs are located on your instructor’s CD.
Select the FigB-P04a-The-Initial-Crows-Foot-ERD-for-the-Video-Rental-Store.vsd file to see the
initial design. Select the Fig-C-P02a-The-Revised-Video-Rental-Crows-Foot-ERD.vsd file to see the
verified design.

6. In a construction company, a new system has been in place for a few months and now there is a list
of possible changes/updates that need to be done. For each of the changes/updates, specify what
type of maintenance needs to be done: (a) corrective, (b) adaptive, and (c) perfective.
a. An error in the size of one of the fields has been identified and it needs to be updated
status field needs to be changed.

This is a change in response to a system error – corrective maintenance.

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b. The company is expanding into a new type of service and this will require to enhancing
the system with a new set of tables to support this new service and integrate it with the
existing data.

This is a change to enhance the system – perfective maintenance.

c. The company has to comply with some government regulations. To do this, it will
require adding a couple of fields to the existing system tables.

This is a change in response to changes in the business environment – adaptive maintenance.

7. You have been assigned to design the database for a new soccer club. Indicate the most
appropriate sequence of activities by labeling each of the following steps in the correct order. (For
example, if you think that “Load the database” is the appropriate first step, label it “1.”)

_10__ Create the application programs.

__4__ Create a description of each system process.
_11__ Test the system.
__9__ Load the database.
__7__ Normalize the conceptual model.
__1__ Interview the soccer club president.
__5__ Create a conceptual model using ER diagrams.
__2__ Interview the soccer club director of coaching.
__8__ Create the file (table) structures.
__3__ Obtain a general description of the soccer club operations.
__6__ Draw a data flow diagram and system flowcharts.

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Discovering Diverse Content Through
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that environment into which it has its outlet. My conception of my
spiritual environment is not to be compared with your scientific world
of pointer readings; it is an everyday world to be compared with the
material world of familiar experience. I claim it as no more real and
no less real than that. Primarily it is not a world to be analysed, but a
world to be lived in.
Granted that this takes us outside the sphere of exact knowledge,
and that it is difficult to imagine that anything corresponding to exact
science will ever be applicable to this part of our environment, the
mystic is unrepentant. Because we are unable to render exact
account of our environment it does not follow that it would be better
to pretend that we live in a vacuum.
If the defence may be considered to have held good against the
first onslaught, perhaps the next stage of the attack will be an easy
tolerance. “Very well. Have it your own way. It is a harmless sort of
belief—not like a more dogmatic theology. You want a sort of spiritual
playground for those queer tendencies in man’s nature, which
sometimes take possession of him. Run away and play then; but do
not bother the serious people who are making the world go round.”
The challenge now comes not from the scientific materialism which
professes to seek a natural explanation of spiritual power, but from
the deadlier moral materialism which despises it. Few deliberately
hold the philosophy that the forces of progress are related only to the
material side of our environment, but few can claim that they are not
more or less under its sway. We must not interrupt the “practical
men”, these busy moulders of history carrying us at ever-increasing
pace towards our destiny as an ant-heap of humanity infesting the
earth. But is it true in history that material forces have been the most
potent factors? Call it of God, of the Devil, fanaticism, unreason; but
do not underrate the power of the mystic. Mysticism may be fought
as error or believed as inspired, but it is no matter for easy tolerance
—

We are the music-makers

And we are the dreamers of dreams
Wandering by lone sea-breakers
 And sitting by desolate streams;

World-losers and world-forsakers,

On whom the pale moon gleams:
Yet we are the movers and shakers
Of the world for ever, it seems.

Reality and Mysticism. But a defence before the scientists may not
be a defence to our own self-questionings. We are haunted by the
word reality. I have already tried to deal with the questions which
arise as to the meaning of reality; but it presses on us so persistently
that, at the risk of repetition, I must consider it once more from the
standpoint of religion. A compromise of illusion and reality may be all
very well in our attitude towards physical surroundings; but to admit
such a compromise into religion would seem to be a trifling with
sacred things. Reality seems to concern religious beliefs much more
than any others. No one bothers as to whether there is a reality
behind humour. The artist who tries to bring out the soul in his
picture does not really care whether and in what sense the soul can
be said to exist. Even the physicist is unconcerned as to whether
atoms or electrons really exist; he usually asserts that they do, but,
as we have seen, existence is there used in a domestic sense and
no inquiry is made as to whether it is more than a conventional term.
In most subjects (perhaps not excluding philosophy) it seems
sufficient to agree on the things that we shall call real, and
afterwards try to discover what we mean by the word. And so it
comes about that religion seems to be the one field of inquiry in
which the question of reality and existence is treated as of serious
and vital importance.
But it is difficult to see how such an inquiry can be profitable.
When Dr. Johnson felt himself getting tied up in argument over
“Bishop Berkeley’s ingenious sophistry to prove the non-existence of
matter, and that everything in the universe is merely ideal”, he
answered, “striking his foot with mighty force against a large stone,
till he rebounded from it,—‘I refute it thus’” Just what that action
assured him of is not very obvious; but apparently he found it
comforting. And to-day the matter-of-fact scientist feels the same
impulse to recoil from these flights of thought back to something
kickable, although he ought to be aware by this time that what
Rutherford has left us of the large stone is scarcely worth kicking.
There is still the tendency to use “reality” as a word of magic
comfort like the blessed word “Mesopotamia”. If I were to assert the
reality of the soul or of God, I should certainly not intend a
comparison with Johnson’s large stone—a patent illusion—or even
with the ′s and ′s of the quantum theory—an abstract symbolism.
Therefore I have no right to use the word in religion for the purpose
of borrowing on its behalf that comfortable feeling which (probably
wrongly) has become associated with stones and quantum co-
ordinates.
Scientific instincts warn me that any attempt to answer the
question “What is real?” in a broader sense than that adopted for
domestic purposes in science, is likely to lead to a floundering
among vain words and high-sounding epithets. We all know that
there are regions of the human spirit untrammelled by the world of
physics. In the mystic sense of the creation around us, in the
expression of art, in a yearning towards God, the soul grows upward
and finds the fulfilment of something implanted in its nature. The
sanction for this development is within us, a striving born with our
consciousness or an Inner Light proceeding from a greater power
than ours. Science can scarcely question this sanction, for the
pursuit of science springs from a striving which the mind is impelled
to follow, a questioning that will not be suppressed. Whether in the
intellectual pursuits of science or in the mystical pursuits of the spirit,
the light beckons ahead and the purpose surging in our nature
responds. Can we not leave it at that? Is it really necessary to drag
in the comfortable word “reality” to be administered like a pat on the
back?
The problem of the scientific world is part of a broader problem—
the problem of all experience. Experience may be regarded as a
combination of self and environment, it being part of the problem to
disentangle these two interacting components. Life, religion,
knowledge, truth are all involved in this problem, some relating to the
finding of ourselves, some to the finding of our environment from the
experience confronting us. All of us in our lives have to make
something of this problem; and it is an important condition that we
who have to solve the problem are ourselves part of the problem.
Looking at the very beginning, the initial fact is the feeling of purpose
in ourselves which urges us to embark on the problem. We are
meant to fulfil something by our lives. There are faculties with which
we are endowed, or which we ought to attain, which must find a
status and an outlet in the solution. It may seem arrogant that we
should in this way insist on moulding truth to our own nature; but it is
rather that the problem of truth can only spring from a desire for truth
which is in our nature.
A rainbow described in the symbolism of physics is a band of
aethereal vibrations arranged in systematic order of wave-length
from about .000040 cm. to .000072 cm. From one point of view we
are paltering with the truth whenever we admire the gorgeous bow of
colour, and should strive to reduce our minds to such a state that we
receive the same impression from the rainbow as from a table of
wave-lengths. But although that is how the rainbow impresses itself
on an impersonal spectroscope, we are not giving the whole truth
and significance of experience—the starting-point of the problem—if
we suppress the factors wherein we ourselves differ from a
spectroscope. We cannot say that the rainbow, as part of the world,
was meant to convey the vivid effects of colour; but we can perhaps
say that the human mind as part of the world was meant to perceive
it that way.

Significance and Values. When we think of the sparkling waves as

moved with laughter we are evidently attributing a significance to the
scene which was not there. The physical elements of the water—the
scurrying electric charges—were guiltless of any intention to convey
the impression that they were happy. But so also were they guiltless
of any intention to convey the impression of substance, of colour, or
of geometrical form of the waves. If they can be held to have had
any intention at all it was to satisfy certain differential equations—
and that was because they are the creatures of the mathematician
who has a partiality for differential equations. The physical no less
than the mystical significance of the scene is not there; it is here—in
the mind.
What we make of the world must be largely dependent on the
sense-organs that we happen to possess. How the world must have
changed since man came to rely on his eyes rather than his nose!
You are alone on the mountains wrapt in a great silence; but equip
yourself with an extra artificial sense-organ and, lo! the aether is
hideous with the blare of the Savoy bands. Or—

The isle is full of noises,

Sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight, and hurt not.
Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears; and sometimes voices.

So far as broader characteristics are concerned we see in Nature

what we look for or are equipped to look for. Of course, I do not
mean that we can arrange the details of the scene; but by the light
and shade of our values we can bring out things that shall have the
broad characteristics we esteem. In this sense the value placed on
permanence creates the world of apparent substance; in this sense,
perhaps, the God within creates the God in Nature. But no complete
view can be obtained so long as we separate our consciousness
from the world of which it is a part. We can only speak speculatively
of that which I have called the “background of the pointer readings”;
but it would at least seem plausible that if the values which give the
light and shade of the world are absolute they must belong to the
background, unrecognised in physics because they are not in the
pointer readings but recognised by consciousness which has its
roots in the background. I have no wish to put that forward as a
theory; it is only to emphasise that, limited as we are to a knowledge
of the physical world and its points of contact with the background in
isolated consciousness, we do not quite attain that thought of the
unity of the whole which is essential to a complete theory.
Presumably human nature has been specialised to a considerable
extent by the operation of natural selection; and it might well be
debated whether its valuation of permanence and other traits now
apparently fundamental are essential properties of consciousness or
have been evolved through interplay with the external world. In that
case the values given by mind to the external world have originally
come to it from the external world-stuff. Such a tossing to and fro of
values is, I think, not foreign to our view that the world-stuff behind
the pointer readings is of nature continuous with the mind.
In viewing the world in a practical way values for normal human
consciousness may be taken as standard. But the evident possibility
of arbitrariness in this valuation sets us hankering after a standard
that could be considered final and absolute. We have two
alternatives. Either there are no absolute values, so that the
sanctions of the inward monitor in our consciousness are the final
court of appeal beyond which it is idle to inquire. Or there are
absolute values; then we can only trust optimistically that our values
are some pale reflection of those of the Absolute Valuer, or that we
have insight into the mind of the Absolute from whence come those
strivings and sanctions whose authority we usually forbear to
question.
I have naturally tried to make the outlook reached in these
lectures as coherent as possible, but I should not be greatly
concerned if under the shafts of criticism it becomes very ragged.
Coherency goes with finality; and the anxious question is whether
our arguments have begun right rather than whether they have had
the good fortune to end right. The leading points which have seemed
to me to deserve philosophic consideration may be summarised as
follows:
(1) The symbolic nature of the entities of physics is generally
recognised; and the scheme of physics is now formulated in such a
way as to make it almost self-evident that it is a partial aspect of
something wider.
(2) Strict causality is abandoned in the material world. Our ideas
of the controlling laws are in process of reconstruction and it is not
possible to predict what kind of form they will ultimately take; but all
the indications are that strict causality has dropped out permanently.
This relieves the former necessity of supposing that mind is subject
to deterministic law or alternatively that it can suspend deterministic
law in the material world.
(3) Recognising that the physical world is entirely abstract and
without “actuality” apart from its linkage to consciousness, we restore
consciousness to the fundamental position instead of representing it
as an inessential complication occasionally found in the midst of
inorganic nature at a late stage of evolutionary history.
(4) The sanction for correlating a “real” physical world to certain
feelings of which we are conscious does not seem to differ in any
essential respect from the sanction for correlating a spiritual domain
to another side of our personality.
It is not suggested that there is anything new in this philosophy.
In particular the essence of the first point has been urged by many
writers, and has no doubt won individual assent from many scientists
before the recent revolutions of physical theory. But it places a
somewhat different complexion on the matter when this is not merely
a philosophic doctrine to which intellectual assent might be given,
but has become part of the scientific attitude of the day, illustrated in
detail in the current scheme of physics.

Conviction. Through fourteen chapters you have followed with me

the scientific approach to knowledge. I have given the philosophical
reflections as they have naturally arisen from the current scientific
conclusions, I hope without distorting them for theological ends. In
the present chapter the standpoint has no longer been
predominantly scientific; I started from that part of our experience
which is not within the scope of a scientific survey, or at least is such
that the methods of physical science would miss the significance that
we consider it essential to attribute to it. The starting-point of belief in
mystical religion is a conviction of significance or, as I have called it
earlier, the sanction of a striving in the consciousness. This must be
emphasised because appeal to intuitive conviction of this kind has
been the foundation of religion through all ages and I do not wish to
give the impression that we have now found something new and
more scientific to substitute. I repudiate the idea of proving the
distinctive beliefs of religion either from the data of physical science
or by the methods of physical science. Presupposing a mystical
religion based not on science but (rightly or wrongly) on a self-known
experience accepted as fundamental, we can proceed to discuss the
various criticisms which science might bring against it or the possible
conflict with scientific views of the nature of experience equally
originating from self-known data.
It is necessary to examine further the nature of the conviction
from which religion arises; otherwise we may seem to be
countenancing a blind rejection of reason as a guide to truth. There
is a hiatus in reasoning, we must admit; but it is scarcely to be
described as a rejection of reasoning. There is just the same hiatus
in reasoning about the physical world if we go back far enough. We
can only reason from data and the ultimate data must be given to us
by a non-reasoning process—a self-knowledge of that which is in our
consciousness. To make a start we must be aware of something. But
that is not sufficient; we must be convinced of the significance of that
awareness. We are bound to claim for human nature that, either of
itself or as inspired by a power beyond, it is capable of making
legitimate judgments of significance. Otherwise we cannot even
reach a physical world.[49]
Accordingly the conviction which we postulate is that certain
states of awareness in consciousness have at least equal
significance with those which are called sensations. It is perhaps not
irrelevant to note that time by its dual entry into our minds (p. 51) to
some extent bridges the gap between sense-impressions and these
other states of awareness. Amid the latter must be found the basis of
experience from which a spiritual religion arises. The conviction is
scarcely a matter to be argued about, it is dependent on the
forcefulness of the feeling of awareness.
But, it may be said, although we may have such a department of
consciousness, may we not have misunderstood altogether the
nature of that which we believe we are experiencing? That seems to
me to be rather beside the point. In regard to our experience of the
physical world we have very much misunderstood the meaning of
our sensations. It has been the task of science to discover that
things are very different from what they seem. But we do not pluck
out our eyes because they persist in deluding us with fanciful
colourings instead of giving us the plain truth about wave-length. It is
in the midst of such misrepresentations of environment (if you must
call them so) that we have to live. It is, however, a very one-sided
view of truth which can find in the glorious colouring of our
surroundings nothing but misrepresentation—which takes the
environment to be all important and the conscious spirit to be
inessential. In our scientific chapters we have seen how the mind
must be regarded as dictating the course of world-building; without it
there is but formless chaos. It is the aim of physical science, so far
as its scope extends, to lay bare the fundamental structure
underlying the world; but science has also to explain if it can, or else
humbly to accept, the fact that from this world have arisen minds
capable of transmuting the bare structure into the richness of our
experience. It is not misrepresentation but rather achievement—the
result perhaps of long ages of biological evolution—that we should
have fashioned a familiar world out of the crude basis. It is a
fulfilment of the purpose of man’s nature. If likewise the spiritual
world has been transmuted by a religious colour beyond anything
implied in its bare external qualities, it may be allowable to assert
with equal conviction that this is not misrepresentation but the
achievement of a divine element in man’s nature.
May I revert again to the analogy of theology with the supposed
science of humour which (after consultation with a classical
authority) I venture to christen “geloeology”. Analogy is not
convincing argument, but it must serve here. Consider the proverbial
Scotchman with strong leanings towards philosophy and incapable
of seeing a joke. There is no reason why he should not take high
honours in geloeology, and for example write an acute analysis of
the differences between British and American humour. His
comparison of our respective jokes would be particularly unbiased
and judicial, seeing that he is quite incapable of seeing the point of
either. But it would be useless to consider his views as to which was
following the right development; for that he would need a
sympathetic understanding—he would (in the phrase appropriate to
the other side of my analogy) need to be converted. The kind of help
and criticism given by the geloeologist and the philosophical
theologian is to secure that there is method in our madness. The
former may show that our hilarious reception of a speech is the
result of a satisfactory dinner and a good cigar rather than a subtle
perception of wit; the latter may show that the ecstatic mysticism of
the anchorite is the vagary of a fevered body and not a transcendent
revelation. But I do not think we should appeal to either of them to
discuss the reality of the sense with which we claim to be endowed,
nor the direction of its right development. That is a matter for our
inner sense of values which we all believe in to some extent, though
it may be a matter of dispute just how far it goes. If we have no such
sense then it would seem that not only religion, but the physical
world and all faith in reasoning totter in insecurity.
I have sometimes been asked whether science cannot now
furnish an argument which ought to convince any reasonable atheist.
I could no more ram religious conviction into an atheist than I could
ram a joke into the Scotchman. The only hope of “converting” the
latter is that through contact with merry-minded companions he may
begin to realise that he is missing something in life which is worth
attaining. Probably in the recesses of his solemn mind there exists
inhibited the seed of humour, awaiting an awakening by such an
impulse. The same advice would seem to apply to the propagation of
religion; it has, I believe, the merit of being entirely orthodox advice.
We cannot pretend to offer proofs. Proof is an idol before whom
the pure mathematician tortures himself. In physics we are generally
content to sacrifice before the lesser shrine of Plausibility. And even
the pure mathematician—that stern logician—reluctantly allows
himself some prejudgments; he is never quite convinced that the
scheme of mathematics is flawless, and mathematical logic has
undergone revolutions as profound as the revolutions of physical
theory. We are all alike stumblingly pursuing an ideal beyond our
reach. In science we sometimes have convictions as to the right
solution of a problem which we cherish but cannot justify; we are
influenced by some innate sense of the fitness of things. So too
there may come to us convictions in the spiritual sphere which our
nature bids us hold to. I have given an example of one such
conviction which is rarely if ever disputed—that surrender to the
mystic influence of a scene of natural beauty is right and proper for a
human spirit, although it would have been deemed an unpardonable
eccentricity in the “observer” contemplated in earlier chapters.
Religious conviction is often described in somewhat analogous terms
as a surrender; it is not to be enforced by argument on those who do
not feel its claim in their own nature.
I think it is inevitable that these convictions should emphasise a
personal aspect of what we are trying to grasp. We have to build the
spiritual world out of symbols taken from our own personality, as we
build the scientific world out of the metrical symbols of the
mathematician. If not, it can only be left ungraspable—an
environment dimly felt in moments of exaltation but lost to us in the
sordid routine of life. To turn it into more continuous channels we
must be able to approach the World-Spirit in the midst of our cares
and duties in that simpler relation of spirit to spirit in which all true
religion finds expression.

Mystical Religion. We have seen that the cyclic scheme of physics

presupposes a background outside the scope of its investigations. In
this background we must find, first, our own personality, and then
perhaps a greater personality. The idea of a universal Mind or Logos
would be, I think, a fairly plausible inference from the present state of
scientific theory; at least it is in harmony with it. But if so, all that our
inquiry justifies us in asserting is a purely colourless pantheism.
Science cannot tell whether the world-spirit is good or evil, and its
halting argument for the existence of a God might equally well be
turned into an argument for the existence of a Devil.
I think that that is an example of the limitation of physical
schemes that has troubled us before—namely, that in all such
schemes opposites are represented by + and -. Past and future,
cause and effect, are represented in this inadequate way. One of the
greatest puzzles of science is to discover why protons and electrons
are not simply the opposites of one another, although our whole
conception of electric charge requires that positive and negative
electricity should be related like + and -. The direction of time’s arrow
could only be determined by that incongruous mixture of theology
and statistics known as the second law of thermodynamics; or, to be
more explicit, the direction of the arrow could be determined by
statistical rules, but its significance as a governing fact “making
sense of the world” could only be deduced on teleological
assumptions. If physics cannot determine which way up its own
world ought to be regarded, there is not much hope of guidance from
it as to ethical orientation. We trust to some inward sense of fitness
when we orient the physical world with the future on top, and
likewise we must trust to some inner monitor when we orient the
spiritual world with the good on top.
Granted that physical science has limited its scope so as to leave
a background which we are at liberty to, or even invited to, fill with a
reality of spiritual import, we have yet to face the most difficult
criticism from science. “Here”, says science, “I have left a domain in
which I shall not interfere. I grant that you have some kind of avenue
to it through the self-knowledge of consciousness, so that it is not
necessarily a domain of pure agnosticism. But how are you going to
deal with this domain? Have you any system of inference from
mystic experience comparable to the system by which science
develops a knowledge of the outside world? I do not insist on your
employing my method, which I acknowledge is inapplicable; but you
ought to have some defensible method. The alleged basis of
experience may possibly be valid; but have I any reason to regard
the religious interpretation currently given to it as anything more than
muddle-headed romancing?”
The question is almost beyond my scope. I can only
acknowledge its pertinency. Although I have chosen the lightest task
by considering only mystical religion—and I have no impulse to
defend any other—I am not competent to give an answer which shall
be anything like complete. It is obvious that the insight of
consciousness, although the only avenue to what I have called
intimate knowledge of the reality behind the symbols of science, is
not to be trusted implicitly without control. In history religious
mysticism has often been associated with extravagances that cannot
be approved. I suppose too that oversensitiveness to aesthetic
influences may be a sign of a neurotic temperament unhealthy to the
individual. We must allow something for the pathological condition of
the brain in what appear to be moments of exalted insight. One
begins to fear that after all our faults have been detected and
removed there will not be any “us” left. But in the study of the
physical world we have ultimately to rely on our sense-organs,
although they are capable of betraying us by gross illusions; similarly
the avenue of consciousness into the spiritual world may be beset
with pitfalls, but that does not necessarily imply that no advance is
possible.
A point that must be insisted on is that religion or contact with
spiritual power if it has any general importance at all must be a
commonplace matter of ordinary life, and it should be treated as
such in any discussion. I hope that you have not interpreted my
references to mysticism as referring to abnormal experiences and
revelations. I am not qualified to discuss what evidential value (if
any) may be attached to the stranger forms of experience and
insight. But in any case to suppose that mystical religion is mainly
concerned with these is like supposing that Einstein’s theory is
mainly concerned with the perihelion of Mercury and a few other
exceptional observations. For a matter belonging to daily affairs the
tone of current discussions often seems quite inappropriately
pedantic.
As scientists we realise that colour is merely a question of the
wave-lengths of aethereal vibrations; but that does not seem to have
dispelled the feeling that eyes which reflect light near wave-length
4800 are a subject for rhapsody whilst those which reflect wave-
length 5300 are left unsung. We have not yet reached the practice of
the Laputans, who, “if they would, for example, praise the beauty of
a woman, or any other animal, they describe it by rhombs, circles,
parallelograms, ellipses, and other geometrical terms”. The
materialist who is convinced that all phenomena arise from electrons
and quanta and the like controlled by mathematical formulae, must
presumably hold the belief that his wife is a rather elaborate
differential equation; but he is probably tactful enough not to obtrude
this opinion in domestic life. If this kind of scientific dissection is felt
to be inadequate and irrelevant in ordinary personal relationships, it
is surely out of place in the most personal relationship of all—that of
the human soul to a divine spirit.
We are anxious for perfect truth, but it is hard to say in what form
perfect truth is to be found. I cannot quite believe that it has the form
typified by an inventory. Somehow as part of its perfection there
should be incorporated in it that which we esteem as a “sense of
proportion”. The physicist is not conscious of any disloyalty to truth
on occasions when his sense of proportion tells him to regard a
plank as continuous material, well knowing that it is “really” empty
space containing sparsely scattered electric charges. And the
deepest philosophical researches as to the nature of the Deity may
give a conception equally out of proportion for daily life; so that we
should rather employ a conception that was unfolded nearly two
thousand years ago.
I am standing on the threshold about to enter a room. It is a
complicated business. In the first place I must shove against an
atmosphere pressing with a force of fourteen pounds on every
square inch of my body. I must make sure of landing on a plank
travelling at twenty miles a second round the sun—a fraction of a
second too early or too late, the plank would be miles away. I must
do this whilst hanging from a round planet head outward into space,
and with a wind of aether blowing at no one knows how many miles
a second through every interstice of my body. The plank has no
solidity of substance. To step on it is like stepping on a swarm of
flies. Shall I not slip through? No, if I make the venture one of the
flies hits me and gives a boost up again; I fall again and am knocked
upwards by another fly; and so on. I may hope that the net result will
be that I remain about steady; but if unfortunately I should slip
through the floor or be boosted too violently up to the ceiling, the
occurrence would be, not a violation of the laws of Nature, but a rare
coincidence. These are some of the minor difficulties. I ought really
to look at the problem four-dimensionally as concerning the
intersection of my world-line with that of the plank. Then again it is
necessary to determine in which direction the entropy of the world is
increasing in order to make sure that my passage over the threshold
is an entrance, not an exit.
Verily, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle
than for a scientific man to pass through a door. And whether the
door be barn door or church door it might be wiser that he should
consent to be an ordinary man and walk in rather than wait till all the
difficulties involved in a really scientific ingress are resolved.
[49] We can of course solve the problem arising from certain data
without being convinced of the significance of the data—the
“official” scientific attitude as I have previously called it But a
physical world which has only the status of the solution of a
problem, arbitrarily chosen to pass an idle hour, is not what is
intended here.
 CONCLUSION
A tide of indignation has been surging in the breast of the matter-of-
fact scientist and is about to be unloosed upon us. Let us broadly
survey the defence we can set up.
I suppose the most sweeping charge will be that I have been
talking what at the back of my mind I must know is only a well-
meaning kind of nonsense. I can assure you that there is a scientific
part of me that has often brought that criticism during some of the
later chapters. I will not say that I have been half-convinced, but at
least I have felt a homesickness for the paths of physical science
where there are more or less discernible handrails to keep us from
the worst morasses of foolishness. But however much I may have
felt inclined to tear up this part of the discussion and confine myself
to my proper profession of juggling with pointer readings, I find
myself holding to the main principles. Starting from aether, electrons
and other physical machinery we cannot reach conscious man and
render count of what is apprehended in his consciousness.
Conceivably we might reach a human machine interacting by
reflexes with its environment; but we cannot reach rational man
morally responsible to pursue the truth as to aether and electrons or
to religion. Perhaps it may seem unnecessarily portentous to invoke
the latest developments of the relativity and quantum theories merely
to tell you this; but that is scarcely the point. We have followed these
theories because they contain the conceptions of modern science;
and it is not a question of asserting a faith that science must
ultimately be reconcilable with an idealistic view, but of examining
how at the moment it actually stands in regard to it. I might sacrifice
the detailed arguments of the last four chapters (perhaps marred by
dialectic entanglement) if I could otherwise convey the significance
of the recent change which has overtaken scientific ideals. The
physicist now regards his own external world in a way which I can
only describe as more mystical, though not less exact and practical,
than that which prevailed some years ago, when it was taken for
granted that nothing could be true unless an engineer could make a
model of it. There was a time when the whole combination of self
and environment which makes up experience seemed likely to pass
under the dominion of a physics much more iron-bound than it is
now. That overweening phase, when it was almost necessary to ask
the permission of physics to call one’s soul one’s own, is past. The
change gives rise to thoughts which ought to be developed. Even if
we cannot attain to much clarity of constructive thought we can
discern that certain assumptions, expectations or fears are no longer
applicable.
Is it merely a well-meaning kind of nonsense for a physicist to
affirm this necessity for an outlook beyond physics? It is worse
nonsense to deny it. Or as that ardent relativist the Red Queen puts
it, “You call that nonsense, but I’ve heard nonsense compared with
which that would be as sensible as a dictionary”.
For if those who hold that there must be a physical basis for
everything hold that these mystical views are nonsense, we may ask
—What then is the physical basis of nonsense? The “problem of
nonsense” touches the scientist more nearly than any other moral
problem. He may regard the distinction of good and evil as too
remote to bother about; but the distinction of sense and nonsense, of
valid and invalid reasoning, must be accepted at the beginning of
every scientific inquiry. Therefore it may well be chosen for
examination as a test case.
If the brain contains a physical basis for the nonsense which it
thinks, this must be some kind of configuration of the entities of
physics—not precisely a chemical secretion, but not essentially
different from that kind of product. It is as though when my brain
says 7 times 8 are 56 its machinery is manufacturing sugar, but
when it says 7 times 8 are 65 the machinery has gone wrong and
produced chalk. But who says the machinery has gone wrong? As a
physical machine the brain has acted according to the unbreakable
laws of physics; so why stigmatise its action? This discrimination of
chemical products as good or evil has no parallel in chemistry. We
cannot assimilate laws of thought to natural laws; they are laws
which ought to be obeyed, not laws which must be obeyed; and the
physicist must accept laws of thought before he accepts natural law.
“Ought” takes us outside chemistry and physics. It concerns
something which wants or esteems sugar, not chalk, sense, not
nonsense. A physical machine cannot esteem or want anything;
whatever is fed into it it will chaw up according to the laws of its
physical machinery. That which in the physical world shadows the
nonsense in the mind affords no ground for its condemnation. In a
world of aether and electrons we might perhaps encounter
nonsense; we could not encounter damned nonsense.
The most plausible physical theory of correct reasoning would
probably run somewhat as follows. By reasoning we are sometimes
able to predict events afterwards confirmed by observation; the
mental processes follow a sequence ending in a conception which
anticipates a subsequent perception. We may call such a chain of
mental states “successful reasoning”—intended as a technical
classification without any moral implications involving the awkward
word “ought”. We can examine what are the common characteristics
of various pieces of successful reasoning. If we apply this analysis to
the mental aspects of the reasoning we obtain laws of logic; but
presumably the analysis could also be applied to the physical
constituents of the brain. It is not unlikely that a distinctive
characteristic would be found in the physical processes in the brain-
cells which accompany successful reasoning, and this would
constitute “the physical basis of success.”
But we do not use reasoning power solely to predict
observational events, and the question of success (as above
defined) does not always arise. Nevertheless if such reasoning were
accompanied by the product which I have called “the physical basis
of success” we should naturally assimilate it to successful reasoning.
And so if I persuade my materialist opponent to withdraw the
epithet “damned nonsense” as inconsistent with his own principles
he is still entitled to allege that my brain in evolving these ideas did
not contain the physical basis of success. As there is some danger
of our respective points of view becoming mixed up, I must make
clear my contention:
 (a) If I thought like my opponent I should not worry about the
alleged absence of a physical basis of success in my reasoning,
since it is not obvious why this should be demanded when we are
not dealing with observational predictions.
(b) As I do not think like him, I am deeply perturbed by the
allegation; because I should consider it to be the outward sign that
the stronger epithet (which is not inconsistent with my principles) is
applicable.
I think that the “success” theory of reasoning will not be much
appreciated by the pure mathematician. For him reasoning is a
heaven-sent faculty to be enjoyed remote from the fuss of external
Nature. It is heresy to suggest that the status of his demonstrations
depends on the fact that a physicist now and then succeeds in
predicting results which accord with observation. Let the external
world behave as irrationally as it will, there will remain undisturbed a
corner of knowledge where he may happily hunt for the roots of the
Riemann-Zeta function. The “success” theory naturally justifies itself
to the physicist. He employs this type of activity of the brain because
it leads him to what he wants—a verifiable prediction as to the
external world—and for that reason he esteems it. Why should not
the theologian employ and esteem one of the mental processes of
unreason which leads to what he wants—an assurance of future
bliss, or a Hell to frighten us into better behaviour? Understand that I
do not encourage theologians to despise reason; my point is that
they might well do so if it had no better justification than the
“success” theory.
And so my own concern lest I should have been talking nonsense
ends in persuading me that I have to reckon with something that
could not possibly be found in the physical world.
Another charge launched against these lectures may be that of
admitting some degree of supernaturalism, which in the eyes of
many is the same thing as superstition. In so far as supernaturalism
is associated with the denial of strict causality (p. 309) I can only
answer that that is what the modern scientific development of the
quantum theory brings us to. But probably the more provocative part
of our scheme is the rôle allowed to mind and consciousness. Yet I
suppose that our adversary admits consciousness as a fact and he
is aware that but for knowledge by consciousness scientific
investigation could not begin. Does he regard consciousness as
supernatural? Then it is he who is admitting the supernatural. Or
does he regard it as part of Nature? So do we. We treat it in what
seems to be its obvious position as the avenue of approach to the
reality and significance of the world, as it is the avenue of approach
to all scientific knowledge of the world. Or does he regard
consciousness as something which unfortunately has to be admitted
but which it is scarcely polite to mention? Even so we humour him.
We have associated consciousness with a background untouched in
the physical survey of the world and have given the physicist a
domain where he can go round in cycles without ever encountering
anything to bring a blush to his cheek. Here a realm of natural law is
secured to him covering all that he has ever effectively occupied.
And indeed it has been quite as much the purpose of our discussion
to secure such a realm where scientific method may work
unhindered, as to deal with the nature of that part of our experience
which lies beyond it. This defence of scientific method may not be
superfluous. The accusation is often made that, by its neglect of
aspects of human experience evident to a wider culture, physical
science has been overtaken by a kind of madness leading it sadly
astray. It is part of our contention that there exists a wide field of
research for which the methods of physics suffice, into which the
introduction of these other aspects would be entirely mischievous.
A besetting temptation of the scientific apologist for religion is to
take some of its current expressions and after clearing away
crudities of thought (which must necessarily be associated with
anything adapted to the everyday needs of humanity) to water down
the meaning until little is left that could possibly be in opposition to
science or to anything else. If the revised interpretation had first
been presented no one would have raised vigorous criticism; on the
other hand no one would have been stirred to any great spiritual
enthusiasm. It is the less easy to steer clear of this temptation
because it is necessarily a question of degree. Clearly if we are to
extract from the tenets of a hundred different sects any coherent
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