HomeHome Metamath Proof Explorer < Previous   Next >
Related theorems
Unicode version

Axiom ax-ac 4668
Description: Axiom of Choice. The Axiom of Choice (AC) is usually considered an extension of ZF set theory rather than a proper part of it. It is sometimes considered philosophically controversial because it asserts the existence of a set without telling us what the set is. ZF set theory that includes AC is called ZFC.

The unpublished version given here says that given any set x, there exists a y that is a collection of unordered pairs, one pair for each non-empty member of x. One entry in the pair is the member of x, and the other entry is some arbitrary member of that member of x. See the rewritten version ac3 4671 for a more detailed explanation.

This version was specifically crafted to be short when expanded to primitives. Kurt Maes' 5-quantifier version ackm 4706 is slightly shorter when the biconditional of ax-ac 4668 is expanded into implication and negation.

Standard textbook versions of AC are derived as ac8 4687, ac5 4676, and ac7 4672. The Axiom of Regularity ax-reg 4517 (among others) is used to derive our version from the standard ones; this reverse derivation is shown as theorem aceq6b 4666. Equivalents to AC are the well-ordering theorem weth 4711 and Zorn's lemma zorn 4721. See ac4 4674 for comments about stronger versions of AC.

Assertion
Ref Expression
ax-ac |- E.yA.zA.w((z e. w /\ w e. x) -> E.vA.u(E.t((u e. w /\ w e. t) /\ (u e. t /\ t e. y)) <-> u = v))
Distinct variable group:   x,y,z,w,v,u,t

Detailed syntax breakdown of Axiom ax-ac
StepHypRef Expression
1 vz . . . . . . . 8 set z
21cv 1098 . . . . . . 7 class z
3 vw . . . . . . . 8 set w
43cv 1098 . . . . . . 7 class w
52, 4wcel 1105 . . . . . 6 wff z e. w
6 vx . . . . . . . 8 set x
76cv 1098 . . . . . . 7 class x
84, 7wcel 1105 . . . . . 6 wff w e. x
95, 8wa 223 . . . . 5 wff (z e. w /\ w e. x)
10 vu . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 set u
1110cv 1098 . . . . . . . . . . . 12 class u
1211, 4wcel 1105 . . . . . . . . . . 11 wff u e. w
13 vt . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 set t
1413cv 1098 . . . . . . . . . . . 12 class t
154, 14wcel 1105 . . . . . . . . . . 11 wff w e. t
1612, 15wa 223 . . . . . . . . . 10 wff (u e. w /\ w e. t)
1711, 14wcel 1105 . . . . . . . . . . 11 wff u e. t
18 vy . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 set y
1918cv 1098 . . . . . . . . . . . 12 class y
2014, 19wcel 1105 . . . . . . . . . . 11 wff t e. y
2117, 20wa 223 . . . . . . . . . 10 wff (u e. t /\ t e. y)
2216, 21wa 223 . . . . . . . . 9 wff ((u e. w /\ w e. t) /\ (u e. t /\ t e. y))
2322, 13wex 956 . . . . . . . 8 wff E.t((u e. w /\ w e. t) /\ (u e. t /\ t e. y))
24 vv . . . . . . . . . 10 set v
2524cv 1098 . . . . . . . . 9 class v
2611, 25wceq 1099 . . . . . . . 8 wff u = v
2723, 26wb 146 . . . . . . 7 wff (E.t((u e. w /\ w e. t) /\ (u e. t /\ t e. y)) <-> u = v)
2827, 10wal 950 . . . . . 6 wff A.u(E.t((u e. w /\ w e. t) /\ (u e. t /\ t e. y)) <-> u = v)
2928, 24wex 956 . . . . 5 wff E.vA.u(E.t((u e. w /\ w e. t) /\ (u e. t /\ t e. y)) <-> u = v)
309, 29wi 3 . . . 4 wff ((z e. w /\ w e. x) -> E.vA.u(E.t((u e. w /\ w e. t) /\ (u e. t /\ t e. y)) <-> u = v))
3130, 3wal 950 . . 3 wff A.w((z e. w /\ w e. x) -> E.vA.u(E.t((u e. w /\ w e. t) /\ (u e. t /\ t e. y)) <-> u = v))
3231, 1wal 950 . 2 wff A.zA.w((z e. w /\ w e. x) -> E.vA.u(E.t((u e. w /\ w e. t) /\ (u e. t /\ t e. y)) <-> u = v))
3332, 18wex 956 1 wff E.yA.zA.w((z e. w /\ w e. x) -> E.vA.u(E.t((u e. w /\ w e. t) /\ (u e. t /\ t e. y)) <-> u = v))
Colors of variables: wff set class
This axiom is referenced by:  axac 4669  ac2 4670
Copyright terms: Public domain