Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-analytic-topology-and-axiomatic-set-theory-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2010/b/6/d/ii/solution
Past exam of the analytic topology and axiomatic set theory course of the University of Oxford 2010 B 6 d ii Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-31
Assume a nonempty set has no membership-minimal element, so for every there is . Consider the formula .
It is progressive: if every element of is outside but , the assumed absence of a minimal element supplies , contradicting that hypothesis. The membership induction theorem therefore implies for every set . This contradicts .
Thus every nonempty set contains an element with , exactly the Axiom of foundation:Only the induction schema and elementary set reasoning were needed; no prior use of Axiom of foundation occurs in the proof.
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