# Set-theoretic mereology as a foundation of mathematics, Logic and Metaphysics Workshop, CUNY, October 2016

This will be a talk for the Logic and Metaphysics Workshop at the CUNY Graduate Center, GC 5382, Monday, October 24, 2016, 4:15-6:15 pm.

Abstract. In light of the comparative success of membership-based set theory in the foundations of mathematics, since the time of Cantor, Zermelo and Hilbert, it is natural to wonder whether one might find a similar success for set-theoretic mereology, based upon the set-theoretic inclusion relation $\subseteq$ rather than the element-of relation $\in$.  How well does set-theoretic mereological serve as a foundation of mathematics? Can we faithfully interpret the rest of mathematics in terms of the subset relation to the same extent that set theorists have argued (with whatever degree of success) that we may find faithful representations in terms of the membership relation? Basically, can we get by with merely $\subseteq$ in place of $\in$? Ultimately, I shall identify grounds supporting generally negative answers to these questions, concluding that set-theoretic mereology by itself cannot serve adequately as a foundational theory.

This is joint work with Makoto Kikuchi, and the talk is based on our joint article:

J. D. Hamkins and M. Kikuchi, Set-theoretic mereology, Logic and Logical Philosophy, special issue “Mereology and beyond, part II”, pp. 1-24, 2016.

# The foundation axiom and elementary self-embeddings of the universe

• A. S. Daghighi, M. Golshani, J. Hamkins, and E. Jeřábek, “The foundation axiom and elementary self-embeddings of the universe,” in Infinity, Computability, and Metamathematics: Festschrift celebrating the 60th birthdays of Peter Koepke and Philip Welch, S. Geschke, B. Löwe, and P. Schlicht, Eds., College Publishers, 2014, vol. 23, p. 89–112.
[Bibtex]
@incollection {DaghighiGolshaniHaminsJerabek2013:TheFoundationAxiomAndElementarySelfEmbeddingsOfTheUniverse,
David and Je{\v{r}}{\'a}bek, Emil},
TITLE = {The foundation axiom and elementary self-embeddings of the
universe},
BOOKTITLE = {{Infinity, Computability, and Metamathematics:
Festschrift celebrating the 60th birthdays of Peter Koepke
and Philip Welch}},
SERIES = {Tributes},
VOLUME = {23},
PAGES = {89--112},
PUBLISHER = {College Publishers},
EDITOR = {S. Geschke and B. Löwe and P. Schlicht},
YEAR = {2014},
MRCLASS = {03E70 (03E30)},
MRNUMBER = {3307881},
eprint = {1311.0814},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
primaryClass = {math.LO},
url = {http://jdh.hamkins.org/the-role-of-foundation-in-the-kunen-inconsistency/},
}


In this article, we examine the role played by the axiom of foundation in the well-known Kunen inconsistency, the theorem asserting that there is no nontrivial elementary embedding of the set-theoretic universe to itself. All the standard proofs of the Kunen inconsistency make use of the axiom of foundation (see Kanamori’s books and also Generalizations of the Kunen inconsistency), and this use is essential, assuming that $\ZFC$ is consistent, because as we shall show there are models of $\ZFCf$ that admit nontrivial elementary self-embeddings and even nontrivial definable automorphisms. Meanwhile, a fragment of the Kunen inconsistency survives without foundation as the claim in $\ZFCf$ that there is no nontrivial elementary self-embedding of the class of well-founded sets. Nevertheless, some of the commonly considered anti-foundational theories, such as the Boffa theory $\BAFA$, prove outright the existence of nontrivial automorphisms of the set-theoretic universe, thereby refuting the Kunen assertion in these theories.  On the other hand, several other common anti-foundational theories, such as Aczel’s anti-foundational theory $\ZFCf+\AFA$ and Scott’s theory $\ZFCf+\text{SAFA}$, reach the opposite conclusion by proving that there are no nontrivial elementary embeddings from the set-theoretic universe to itself. Our summary conclusion, therefore, is that the resolution of the Kunen inconsistency in set theory without foundation depends on the specific nature of one’s anti-foundational stance.

This is joint work with Ali Sadegh Daghighi, Mohammad Golshani, myself and Emil Jeřábek, which grew out of our interaction on Ali’s question on MathOverflow, Is there any large cardinal beyond the Kunen inconsistency?