Material set theory

Axiom of Purity

The Axiom of Purity is a possible axiom of material set theory included in most axiomatizations of ZF: set

(βˆ€π‘₯)[𝔐⁑(π‘₯)]

which is to say, the domain of discourse is restricted to sets, and thus every set is a pure set and there are no urelements. Usually, purity is not taken as an axiom and instead everything in the universe is implicitly taken to be a set, doing away with the sethood predicate 𝔐. Since many axioms of material set theory must be modified to allow for urelements, these notes will not assume purity instead opting to treat it as a separate, optional axiom.


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