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In set theory, a universal set is a set which contains all objects, including itself. [1] In set theory as usually formulated, it can be proven in multiple ways that a universal set does not exist. However, some non-standard variants of set theory include a universal set.
A set of polygons in an Euler diagram This set equals the one depicted above since both have the very same elements.. In mathematics, a set is a collection of different [1] things; [2] [3] [4] these things are called elements or members of the set and are typically mathematical objects of any kind: numbers, symbols, points in space, lines, other geometrical shapes, variables, or even other ...
A derived binary relation between two sets is the subset relation, also called set inclusion. If all the members of set A are also members of set B, then A is a subset of B, denoted A ⊆ B. For example, {1, 2} is a subset of {1, 2, 3}, and so is {2} but {1, 4} is not. As implied by this definition, a set is a subset of itself.
For example, the initial object in any concrete category with free objects will be the free object generated by the empty set (since the free functor, being left adjoint to the forgetful functor to Set, preserves colimits). Initial and terminal objects may also be characterized in terms of universal properties and adjoint functors.
Within set theory, many collections of sets turn out to be proper classes. Examples include the class of all sets (the universal class), the class of all ordinal numbers, and the class of all cardinal numbers. One way to prove that a class is proper is to place it in bijection with the class of all ordinal numbers.
For instance, when investigating properties of the real numbers R (and subsets of R), R may be taken as the universal set. A true universal set is not included in standard set theory (see Paradoxes below), but is included in some non-standard set theories. Given a universal set U and a subset A of U, the complement of A (in U) is defined as
In the left hand sides of the following identities, is the L eft most set, is the M iddle set, and is the R ight most set. Precedence rules. There is no universal agreement on the order of precedence of the basic set operators.
The universal algebra point of view is well adapted to category theory. For example, when defining a group object in category theory, where the object in question may not be a set, one must use equational laws (which make sense in general categories), rather than quantified laws (which refer to individual elements). Further, the inverse and ...