In contrast to naive set theory, the attitude adopted in an axiomatic development of set theory is that it is not necessary to know what the “things” are that are called “sets” or what the relation of membership means. Of sole concern are the properties assumed about sets and the membership relation. Thus, in an axiomatic theory of sets, set and the membership relation ∊ are undefined terms. The assumptions adopted about these notions are called the axioms of the theory. Axiomatic set theorems are the axioms together with statements that can be deduced from the axioms using the rules of inference provided by a system of logic. Criteria for the choice of axioms include: (1) consistency—it should be impossible to derive as theorems both a statement and its negation; (2) plausibility—axioms should be in accord with intuitive beliefs about sets; and (3) richness—desirable results of Cantorian set theory can be derived as theorems.
The Zermelo-Fraenkel axioms
The first axiomatization of set theory was given in 1908 by German mathematician Ernst Zermelo. From his analysis of the paradoxes described above in the section Cardinality and transfinite numbers, he concluded that they are associated with sets that are “too big,” such as the set of all sets in Cantor’s paradox. Thus, the axioms that Zermelo formulated are restrictive insofar as the asserting or implying of the existence of sets is concerned. As a consequence, there is no apparent way, in his system, to derive the known contradictions from them. On the other hand, the results of classical set theory short of the paradoxes can be derived. Zermelo’s axiomatic theory is here discussed in a form that incorporates modifications and improvements suggested by later mathematicians, principally Thoralf Albert Skolem, a Norwegian pioneer in metalogic, and Abraham Adolf Fraenkel, an Israeli mathematician. In the literature on set theory, it is called Zermelo-Fraenkel set theory and abbreviated ZFC (“C” because of the inclusion of the axiom of choice). See the Click Here to see full-size table
table of Zermelo-Fraenkel axioms.
Schemas for generating well-formed formulas
The ZFC “axiom of extension” conveys the idea that, as in naive set theory, a set is determined solely by its members. It should be noted that this is not merely a logically necessary property of equality but an assumption about the membership relation as well.
The set defined by the “axiom of the empty set” is the empty (or null) set Ø.
For an understanding of the “axiom schema of separation” considerable explanation is required. Zermelo’s original system included the assumption that, if a formula S(x) is “definite” for all elements of a set A, then there exists a set the elements of which are precisely those elements x of A for which S(x) holds. This is a restricted version of the principle of abstraction, now known as the principle of comprehension, for it provides for the existence of sets corresponding to formulas. It restricts that principle, however, in two ways: (1) Instead of asserting the existence of sets unconditionally, it can be applied only in conjunction with preexisting sets, and (2) only “definite” formulas may be used. Zermelo offered only a vague description of “definite,” but clarification was given by Skolem (1922) by way of a precise definition of what will be called simply a formula of ZFC. Using tools of modern logic, the definition may be made as follows:
- I. For any variables x and y, x ∊ y and x = y are formulas (such formulas are called atomic).
- II. If S and T are formulas and x is any variable, then each of the following is a formula: If S, then T; S if and only if T; S and T; S or T; not S; for all x, S; for some x, T.
Formulas are constructed recursively (in a finite number of systematic steps) beginning with the (atomic) formulas of (I) and proceeding via the constructions permitted in (II). “Not (x ∊ y),” for example, is a formula (which is abbreviated to x ∉ y), and “There exists an x such that for every y, y ∉ x” is a formula. A variable is free in a formula if it occurs at least once in the formula without being introduced by one of the phrases “for some x” or “for all x.” Henceforth, a formula S in which x occurs as a free variable will be called “a condition on x” and symbolized S(x). The formula “For every y, x ∊ y,” for example, is a condition on x. It is to be understood that a formula is a formal expression—i.e., a term without meaning. Indeed, a computer can be programmed to generate atomic formulas and build up from them other formulas of ever-increasing complexity using logical connectives (“not,” “and,” etc.) and operators (“for all” and “for some”). A formula acquires meaning only when an interpretation of the theory is specified; i.e., when (1) a nonempty collection (called the domain of the interpretation) is specified as the range of values of the variables (thus the term set is assigned a meaning, viz., an object in the domain), (2) the membership relation is defined for these sets, (3) the logical connectives and operators are interpreted as in everyday language, and (4) the logical relation of equality is taken to be identity among the objects in the domain.
The phrase “a condition on x” for a formula in which x is free is merely suggestive; relative to an interpretation, such a formula does impose a condition on x. Thus, the intuitive interpretation of the “axiom schema of separation” is: given a set A and a condition on x, S(x), those elements of A for which the condition holds form a set. It provides for the existence of sets by separating off certain elements of existing sets. Calling this the axiom schema of separation is appropriate, because it is actually a schema for generating axioms—one for each choice of S(x).