Loving the universe

Talk held by Tim Button (University of Cambridge, UK) at the KGRC Friday seminar on 2018‑11‑09.

Abstract

I want to introduce you to a new set theory. (The theory is my own, but it builds on work by many other people, including: Boolos, Church, Derrick, Forster, Montague, Oswald, Potter, Scott.) According to this theory, the sets are arranged into well-ordered stages; so the theory is actually usable. But also, according to this theory, every set has an absolute complement. Since the absolute complement of the empty set is the universal set, this theory puts the empty set and the universal set on a par. Just how 'on a par' they are will emerge during the talk. But, in the end, this theory has convinced me that the claim ‘there is no universal set’ is not just an unjustified dogma; it is a dogma without determinate content.

There is a video recording of this talk on YouTube.

The slides are available, too.

Bottom menu

Kurt Gödel Research Center for Mathematical Logic. Währinger Straße 25, 1090 Wien, Austria. Phone +43-1-4277-50501. Last updated: 2018-11-17, 02:15.