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In
set theory Set theory is the branch of mathematical logic that studies sets, which can be informally described as collections of objects. Although objects of any kind can be collected into a set, set theory, as a branch of mathematics, is mostly concern ...
, a branch of
mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
, an urelement or ur-element (from the
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
prefix ''ur-'', 'primordial') is an object that is not a
set Set, The Set, SET or SETS may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Mathematics *Set (mathematics), a collection of elements *Category of sets, the category whose objects and morphisms are sets and total functions, respectively Electro ...
, but that may be an element of a set. It is also referred to as an atom or individual.


Theory

There are several different but essentially equivalent ways to treat urelements in a
first-order theory First-order logic—also known as predicate logic, quantificational logic, and first-order predicate calculus—is a collection of formal systems used in mathematics, philosophy, linguistics, and computer science. First-order logic uses quan ...
. One way is to work in a first-order theory with two sorts, sets and urelements, with ''a'' ∈ ''b'' only defined when ''b'' is a set. In this case, if ''U'' is an urelement, it makes no sense to say X \in U, although U \in X is perfectly legitimate. Another way is to work in a one-sorted theory with a
unary relation In mathematics, a finitary relation over sets is a subset of the Cartesian product ; that is, it is a set of ''n''-tuples consisting of elements ''x'i'' in ''X'i''. Typically, the relation describes a possible connection between the eleme ...
used to distinguish sets and urelements. As non-empty sets contain members while urelements do not, the unary relation is only needed to distinguish the empty set from urelements. Note that in this case, the
axiom of extensionality In axiomatic set theory and the branches of logic, mathematics, and computer science that use it, the axiom of extensionality, or axiom of extension, is one of the axioms of Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory. It says that sets having the same elements ...
must be formulated to apply only to objects that are not urelements. This situation is analogous to the treatments of theories of sets and classes. Indeed, urelements are in some sense dual to proper classes: urelements cannot have members whereas proper classes cannot be members. Put differently, urelements are minimal objects while proper classes are maximal objects by the membership relation (which, of course, is not an order relation, so this analogy is not to be taken literally).


Urelements in set theory

The
Zermelo set theory Zermelo set theory (sometimes denoted by Z-), as set out in a seminal paper in 1908 by Ernst Zermelo, is the ancestor of modern Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory (ZF) and its extensions, such as von Neumann–Bernays–Gödel set theory (NBG). It be ...
of 1908 included urelements, and hence is a version now called ZFA or ZFCA (i.e. ZFA with
axiom of choice In mathematics, the axiom of choice, or AC, is an axiom of set theory equivalent to the statement that ''a Cartesian product of a collection of non-empty sets is non-empty''. Informally put, the axiom of choice says that given any collection ...
). It was soon realized that in the context of this and closely related
axiomatic set theories Set theory is the branch of mathematical logic that studies sets, which can be informally described as collections of objects. Although objects of any kind can be collected into a set, set theory, as a branch of mathematics, is mostly conce ...
, the urelements were not needed because they can easily be modeled in a set theory without urelements. Thus, standard expositions of the canonical
axiomatic set theories Set theory is the branch of mathematical logic that studies sets, which can be informally described as collections of objects. Although objects of any kind can be collected into a set, set theory, as a branch of mathematics, is mostly conce ...
ZF and ZFC do not mention urelements (for an exception, see Suppes). Axiomatizations of set theory that do invoke urelements include
Kripke–Platek set theory with urelements The Kripke–Platek set theory with urelements (KPU) is an axiom system for set theory with urelements, based on the traditional (urelement-free) Kripke–Platek set theory. It is considerably weaker than the (relatively) familiar system ZFU. The ...
and the variant of
Von Neumann–Bernays–Gödel set theory In the foundations of mathematics, von Neumann–Bernays–Gödel set theory (NBG) is an axiomatic set theory that is a conservative extension of Zermelo–Fraenkel–choice set theory (ZFC). NBG introduces the notion of class, which is a colle ...
described by Mendelson. In
type theory In mathematics, logic, and computer science, a type theory is the formal presentation of a specific type system, and in general type theory is the academic study of type systems. Some type theories serve as alternatives to set theory as a founda ...
, an object of type 0 can be called an urelement; hence the name "atom". Adding urelements to the system
New Foundations In mathematical logic, New Foundations (NF) is an axiomatic set theory, conceived by Willard Van Orman Quine as a simplification of the theory of types of '' Principia Mathematica''. Quine first proposed NF in a 1937 article titled "New Foundatio ...
(NF) to produce NFU has surprising consequences. In particular, Jensen proved the
consistency In classical deductive logic, a consistent theory is one that does not lead to a logical contradiction. The lack of contradiction can be defined in either semantic or syntactic terms. The semantic definition states that a theory is consistent ...
of NFU relative to
Peano arithmetic In mathematical logic, the Peano axioms, also known as the Dedekind–Peano axioms or the Peano postulates, are axioms for the natural numbers presented by the 19th century Italian mathematician Giuseppe Peano. These axioms have been used nearl ...
; meanwhile, the consistency of NF relative to anything remains an open problem, pending verification of Holmes's proof of its consistency relative to ZF. Moreover, NFU remains relatively consistent when augmented with an
axiom of infinity In axiomatic set theory and the branches of mathematics and philosophy that use it, the axiom of infinity is one of the axioms of Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory. It guarantees the existence of at least one infinite set, namely a set containing th ...
and the
axiom of choice In mathematics, the axiom of choice, or AC, is an axiom of set theory equivalent to the statement that ''a Cartesian product of a collection of non-empty sets is non-empty''. Informally put, the axiom of choice says that given any collection ...
. Meanwhile, the negation of the axiom of choice is, curiously, an NF theorem. Holmes (1998) takes these facts as evidence that NFU is a more successful foundation for mathematics than NF. Holmes further argues that set theory is more natural with than without urelements, since we may take as urelements the objects of any theory or of the physical
universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy. The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological description of the development of the univers ...
.Holmes, Randall, 1998.
Elementary Set Theory with a Universal Set
'. Academia-Bruylant.
In
finitist set theory Finitist set theory (FST) is a collection theory designed for modeling finite nested structures of individuals and a variety of transitive and antitransitive chains of relations between individuals. Unlike classical set theories such as ZFC and ...
, urelements are mapped to the lowest-level components of the target phenomenon, such as atomic constituents of a physical object or members of an organisation.


Quine atoms

An alternative approach to urelements is to consider them, instead of as a type of object other than sets, as a particular type of set. Quine atoms (named after
Willard Van Orman Quine Willard Van Orman Quine (; known to his friends as "Van"; June 25, 1908 – December 25, 2000) was an American philosopher and logician in the analytic tradition, recognized as "one of the most influential philosophers of the twentieth century" ...
) are sets that only contain themselves, that is, sets that satisfy the formula ''x'' = . Quine atoms cannot exist in systems of set theory that include the
axiom of regularity In mathematics, the axiom of regularity (also known as the axiom of foundation) is an axiom of Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory that states that every non-empty set ''A'' contains an element that is disjoint from ''A''. In first-order logic, the a ...
, but they can exist in
non-well-founded set theory Non-well-founded set theories are variants of axiomatic set theory that allow sets to be elements of themselves and otherwise violate the rule of well-foundedness. In non-well-founded set theories, the foundation axiom of ZFC is replaced by axio ...
. ZF set theory with the axiom of regularity removed cannot prove that any non-well-founded sets exist (unless it is inconsistent, in which case it will prove any arbitrary statement), but it is compatible with the existence of Quine atoms.
Aczel's anti-foundation axiom In the foundations of mathematics, Aczel's anti-foundation axiom is an axiom set forth by , as an alternative to the axiom of foundation in Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory. It states that every accessible pointed directed graph corresponds to exa ...
implies that there is a unique Quine atom. Other non-well-founded theories may admit many distinct Quine atoms; at the opposite end of the spectrum lies Boffa's axiom of superuniversality, which implies that the distinct Quine atoms form a
proper class Proper may refer to: Mathematics * Proper map, in topology, a property of continuous function between topological spaces, if inverse images of compact subsets are compact * Proper morphism, in algebraic geometry, an analogue of a proper map f ...
. Quine atoms also appear in Quine's
New Foundations In mathematical logic, New Foundations (NF) is an axiomatic set theory, conceived by Willard Van Orman Quine as a simplification of the theory of types of '' Principia Mathematica''. Quine first proposed NF in a 1937 article titled "New Foundatio ...
, which allows more than one such set to exist. Quine atoms are the only sets called reflexive sets by Peter Aczel,. although other authors, e.g.
Jon Barwise Kenneth Jon Barwise (; June 29, 1942 – March 5, 2000) was an American mathematician, philosopher and logician who proposed some fundamental revisions to the way that logic is understood and used. Education and career Born in Independence, ...
and Lawrence Moss, use the latter term to denote the larger class of sets with the property ''x'' ∈ ''x''..


References


External links

* {{Mathematical logic