Set Theory An Introduction

By its nature, set theory does not depend on any previous mathematical knowl edge. Hence, an individual wanting to read this book can best find out if he is ready to do so by trying to read the first ten or twenty pages of Chapter 1. As a textbook, the book can serve for a course at the junior or senior level. If a course covers only some of the chapters, the author hopes that the student will read the rest himself in the next year or two. Set theory has always been a sub ject which people find pleasant to study at least partly by themselves. Chapters 1-7, or perhaps 1-8, present the core of the subject. (Chapter 8 is a short, easy discussion of the axiom of regularity). Even a hurried course should try to cover most of this core (of which more is said below). Chapter 9 presents the logic needed for a fully axiomatic set th~ory and especially for independence or consistency results. Chapter 10 gives von Neumann's proof of the relative consistency of the regularity axiom and three similar related results. Von Neumann's 'inner model' proof is easy to grasp and yet it prepares one for the famous and more difficult work of GOdel and Cohen, which are the main topics of any book or course in set theory at the next level.

What is a number? What is infinity? What is continuity? What is order? Answers to these fundamental questions obtained by late nineteenth-century mathematicians such as Dedekind and Cantor gave birth to set theory. This textbook presents classical set theory in an intuitive but concrete manner. To allow flexibility of topic selection in courses, the book is organized into four relatively independent parts with distinct mathematical flavors. Part I begins with the Dedekind–Peano axioms and ends with the construction of the real numbers. The core Cantor–Dedekind theory of cardinals, orders, and ordinals appears in Part II. Part III focuses on the real continuum. Finally, foundational issues and formal axioms are introduced in Part IV. Each part ends with a postscript chapter discussing topics beyond the scope of the main text, ranging from philosophical remarks to glimpses into landmark results of modern set theory such as the resolution of Lusin's problems on projective sets using determinacy of infinite games and large cardinals. Separating the metamathematical issues into an optional fourth part at the end makes this textbook suitable for students interested in any field of mathematics, not just for those planning to specialize in logic or foundations. There is enough material in the text for a year-long course at the upper-undergraduate level. For shorter one-semester or one-quarter courses, a variety of arrangements of topics are possible. The book will be a useful resource for both experts working in a relevant or adjacent area and beginners wanting to learn set theory via self-study.

Michael Potter presents a comprehensive new philosophical introduction to set theory. Anyone wishing to work on the logical foundations of mathematics must understand set theory, which lies at its heart. Potter offers a thorough account of cardinal and ordinal arithmetic, and the various axiom candidates. He discusses in detail the project of set-theoretic reduction, which aims to interpret the rest of mathematics in terms of set theory. The key question here is how to deal with the paradoxes that bedevil set theory. Potter offers a strikingly simple version of the most widely accepted response to the paradoxes, which classifies sets by means of a hierarchy of levels. What makes the book unique is that it interweaves a careful presentation of the technical material with a penetrating philosophical critique. Potter does not merely expound the theory dogmatically but at every stage discusses in detail the reasons that can be offered for believing it to be true. Set Theory and its Philosophy is a key text for philosophy, mathematical logic, and computer science.

This book, now in a thoroughly revised second edition, provides a comprehensive and accessible introduction to modern set theory. Following an overview of basic notions in combinatorics and first-order logic, the author outlines the main topics of classical set theory in the second part, including Ramsey theory and the axiom of choice. The revised edition contains new permutation models and recent results in set theory without the axiom of choice. The third part explains the sophisticated technique of forcing in great detail, now including a separate chapter on Suslin’s problem. The technique is used to show that certain statements are neither provable nor disprovable from the axioms of set theory. In the final part, some topics of classical set theory are revisited and further developed in light of forcing, with new chapters on Sacks Forcing and Shelah’s astonishing construction of a model with finitely many Ramsey ultrafilters. Written for graduate students in axiomatic set theory, Combinatorial Set Theory will appeal to all researchers interested in the foundations of mathematics. With extensive reference lists and historical remarks at the end of each chapter, this book is suitable for self-study.

Designed for undergraduate students of set theory, Classic Set Theory presents a modern perspective of the classic work of Georg Cantor and Richard Dedekin and their immediate successors. This includes:The definition of the real numbers in terms of rational numbers and ultimately in terms of natural numbersDefining natural numbers in terms of setsThe potential paradoxes in set theoryThe Zermelo-Fraenkel axioms for set theoryThe axiom of choiceThe arithmetic of ordered setsCantor's two sorts of transfinite number - cardinals and ordinals - and the arithmetic of these.The book is designed for students studying on their own, without access to lecturers and other reading, along the lines of the internationally renowned courses produced by the Open University. There are thus a large number of exercises within the main body of the text designed to help students engage with the subject, many of which have full teaching solutions. In addition, there are a number of exercises without answers so students studying under the guidance of a tutor may be assessed.Classic Set Theory gives students sufficient grounding in a rigorous approach to the revolutionary results of set theory as well as pleasure in being able to tackle significant problems that arise from the theory.

This is modern set theory from the ground up--from partial orderings and well-ordered sets to models, infinite cobinatorics and large cardinals. The approach is unique, providing rigorous treatment of basic set-theoretic methods, while integrating advanced material such as independence results, throughout. The presentation incorporates much interesting historical material and no background in mathematical logic is assumed. Treatment is self-contained, featuring theorem proofs supported by diagrams, examples and exercises. Includes applications of set theory to other branches of mathematics.

"This accessible approach to set theory for upper-level undergraduates poses rigorous but simple arguments. Each definition is accompanied by commentary that motivates and explains new concepts. A historical introduction is followed by discussions of classes and sets, functions, natural and cardinal numbers, the arithmetic of ordinal numbers, and related topics. 1971 edition with new material by the author"--

This is an introductory undergraduate textbook in set theory. In mathematics these days, essentially everything is a set. Some knowledge of set theory is necessary part of the background everyone needs for further study of mathematics. It is also possible to study set theory for its own interest--it is a subject with intruiging results anout simple objects. This book starts with material that nobody can do without. There is no end to what can be learned of set theory, but here is a beginning.