Set Theory The Structure Of Arithmetic

This text is formulated on the fundamental idea that much of mathematics, including the classical number systems, can best be based on set theory. Beginning with a discussion of the rudiments of set theory, authors Norman T. Hamilton and Joseph Landin lead readers through a construction of the natural number system, discussing the integers and the rational numbers, and concluding with an in-depth examination of the real numbers. Drawn from lecture notes for a course intended primarily for high school mathematics teachers, this volume was designed to answer the question, "What is a number?" and to provide a foundation for the study of abstract algebra, elementary Euclidean geometry, and analysis. Upon completion of this treatment — which is suitable for high school mathematics teachers and advanced high school students — readers should be well prepared for introductory courses in abstract algebra and real variables.

Numbers imitate space, which is of such a di?erent nature —Blaise Pascal It is fair to date the study of the foundation of mathematics back to the ancient Greeks. The urge to understand and systematize the mathematics of the time led Euclid to postulate axioms in an early attempt to put geometry on a ?rm footing. With roots in the Elements, the distinctive methodology of mathematics has become proof. Inevitably two questions arise: What are proofs? and What assumptions are proofs based on? The ?rst question, traditionally an internal question of the ?eld of logic, was also wrestled with in antiquity. Aristotle gave his famous syllogistic s- tems, and the Stoics had a nascent propositional logic. This study continued with ?ts and starts, through Boethius, the Arabs and the medieval logicians in Paris and London. The early germs of logic emerged in the context of philosophy and theology. The development of analytic geometry, as exempli?ed by Descartes, ill- tratedoneofthedi?cultiesinherentinfoundingmathematics. Itisclassically phrased as the question ofhow one reconciles the arithmetic with the geom- ric. Arenumbers onetypeofthingand geometricobjectsanother? Whatare the relationships between these two types of objects? How can they interact? Discovery of new types of mathematical objects, such as imaginary numbers and, much later, formal objects such as free groups and formal power series make the problem of ?nding a common playing ?eld for all of mathematics importunate. Several pressures made foundational issues urgent in the 19th century.

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.

"José Ferreirós has written a magisterial account of the history of set theory which is panoramic, balanced, and engaging. Not only does this book synthesize much previous work and provide fresh insights and points of view, but it also features a major innovation, a full-fledged treatment of the emergence of the set-theoretic approach in mathematics from the early nineteenth century." --Bulletin of Symbolic Logic (Review of first edition)

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.

This is the proceedings of the AMS special session on nonstandard models of arithmetic and set theory held at the Joint Mathematics Meetings in Baltimore (MD). The volume opens with an essay from Haim Gaifman that probes the concept of non-standardness in mathematics and provides a fascinating mix of historical and philosophical insights into the nature of nonstandard mathematical structures. In particular, Gaifman compares and contrasts the discovery of nonstandard models with other key mathematical innovations, such as the introduction of various number systems, the modern concept of function, and non-Euclidean geometries. Other articles in the book present results related to nonstandard models in arithmetic and set theory, including a survey of known results on the Turing upper bounds of arithmetic sets and functions. The volume is suitable for graduate students and research mathematicians interested in logic, especially model theory.

This research level monograph reflects the current state of the field and provides a reference for graduate students entering the field as well as for established researchers.