Set theory

Set theory is the mathematical theory of sets, which represent collections of abstract objects. It encompasses the everyday notions, introduced in primary school, of collections of objects, and the elements of, and membership in, such collections. In most modern mathematical formalisms, set theory provides the language in which mathematical objects are described. It is (along with logic and the predicate calculus) one of the axiomatic foundations for mathematics, allowing mathematical objects to be constructed formally from the undefined terms of "set", and "set membership". It is in its own right a branch of mathematics and an active field of ongoing mathematical research.

In naive set theory, sets are introduced and understood using what is taken to be the self-evident concept of sets as collections of objects considered as a whole.

In axiomatic set theory, the concepts of sets and set membership are defined indirectly by first postulating certain axioms which specify their properties. In this conception, sets and set membership are fundamental concepts like point and line in Euclidean geometry, and are not themselves directly defined.