Set Theory

Catalog description

Axiomatic set theory, including its history. Cantor's theory of infinite cardinal and ordinal numbers seemed laden with contradictions and paradoxes. A satisfactory treatment of these difficulties came with the axiomatic set theory of Zermelo and Fraenkel. This course develops the Zermelo-Fraenkel axioms and examines cardinal and ordinal arithmetic in the context they provide. The course then investigates the consequences of various additional axioms extending Zermelo-Fraenkel, such as the Axiom of Choice, the Continuum Hypothesis, large cardinal axioms of determinacy. Offered in alternate years.