Jump to content
Main menu
Main menu
move to sidebar
hide
Navigation
Main page
Recent changes
Random page
Help about MediaWiki
Special pages
Niidae Wiki
Search
Search
Appearance
Create account
Log in
Personal tools
Create account
Log in
Pages for logged out editors
learn more
Contributions
Talk
Editing
Axiom of extensionality
(section)
Page
Discussion
English
Read
Edit
View history
Tools
Tools
move to sidebar
hide
Actions
Read
Edit
View history
General
What links here
Related changes
Page information
Appearance
move to sidebar
hide
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
== Etymology == The term ''[[extensionality]]'', as used in ''<nowiki/>'Axiom of Extensionality''' has its roots in logic. An [[intensional definition]] describes the [[necessary and sufficient]] conditions for a term to apply to an object. For example: "An [[even number]] is an [[integer]] which is [[divisible]] by 2." An extensional definition instead lists all objects where the term applies. For example: "An even number is any one of the following integers: 0, 2, 4, 6, 8..., -2, -4, -6, -8..." In logic, the [[Extension (logic)|extension]] of a [[Predicate (mathematical logic)|predicate]] is the set of all things for which the predicate is true.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Roy T Cook |url=https://archive.org/details/roy-t.-cook-a-dictionary-of-philosophical-logic/page/155/mode/2up?q=%22INTENSIONAL+DEFINITION%22 |title=A Dictionary Of Philosophical Logic |date=2010 |isbn=978-0-7486-2559-8 |pages=155}}</ref> The logical term was introduced to set theory in 1893, [[Gottlob Frege]] attempted to use this idea of an extension formally in his [[Basic Laws of Arithmetic|''Basic Laws of Arithmetic'']] (German: ''Grundgesetze der Arithmetik''),<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lévy |first=Azriel |url=https://archive.org/details/basicsettheory00levy_0/mode/2up?q=Frege |title=Basic set theory |date=1979 |publisher=Berlin ; New York : Springer-Verlag |isbn=978-0-387-08417-6 |pages=5}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Frege |first=Gottlob |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_LZ5tAAAAMAAJ/page/n105/ |title=Grundgesetze der arithmetik |date=1893 |publisher=Jena, H. Pohle |pages=69}}</ref> where, if <math>F</math> is a predicate, its extension (German: ''Umfang'') <math>\varepsilon F</math>, is the set of all objects satisfying <math>F</math>.<ref>{{Citation |last=Zalta |first=Edward N. |title=Frege's Theorem and Foundations for Arithmetic |date=2024 |editor-last=Zalta |editor-first=Edward N. |url=https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/frege-theorem/ |access-date=2025-01-16 |edition=Spring 2024 |publisher=Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University |editor2-last=Nodelman |editor2-first=Uri |encyclopedia=The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy}}</ref> For example if <math>F(x)</math> is "x is even" then <math>\varepsilon F</math> is the set <math>\{ \cdots , -4, -2, 0, 2, 4, \cdots \} </math>. In his work, he defined his infamous ''[[Basic Law V]]'' as:{{Sfn|Ferreirós|2007|p=304}}<math display="block">\varepsilon F = \varepsilon G \equiv \forall x (F(x) \equiv G(x) ) </math>Stating that if two predicates have the same extensions (they are satisfied by the same set of objects) then they are logically equivalent, however, it was determined later that this axiom led to [[Russell's paradox]]. The first explicit statement of the modern Axiom of Extensionality was in 1908 by Ernst Zermelo in a paper on the [[well-ordering theorem]], where he presented the first axiomatic set theory, now called [[Zermelo set theory]], which became the basis of modern set theories.<ref>{{Citation |last=Hallett |first=Michael |title=Zermelo's Axiomatization of Set Theory |date=2024 |editor-last=Zalta |editor-first=Edward N. |url=https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/zermelo-set-theory/ |access-date=2025-01-16 |edition=Fall 2024 |publisher=Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University |editor2-last=Nodelman |editor2-first=Uri |encyclopedia=The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy}}</ref> The specific term for "Extensionality" used by Zermelo was "Bestimmtheit".The specific English term "extensionality" only became common in mathematical and logical texts in the 1920s and 1930s,<ref>[[Oxford English Dictionary]], s.v. “[[doi:10.1093/OED/1191853349|Extensionality (n.)]]” December 2024</ref> particularly with the formalization of logic and set theory by figures like [[Alfred Tarski]] and [[John von Neumann]].
Summary:
Please note that all contributions to Niidae Wiki may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here.
You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see
Encyclopedia:Copyrights
for details).
Do not submit copyrighted work without permission!
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)
Search
Search
Editing
Axiom of extensionality
(section)
Add topic