Re: Is the empty set a number?

From: Aatu Koskensilta <aatu.koskensilta@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 08 Apr 2008 15:10:58 GMT

On 2008-04-08, in sci.math, Herman Rubin wrote:

We cannot talk about what IS a number, but only what REPRESENTS a
number.

Numbers are prior to any representation. In particular, our
understanding of the naturals, and other such finitary inductively
defined stuff, is more fundamental than any set theoretic
representation. That the empty set happens to be the representation of
0 in this or that set theoretic reduction is just a technical
artefact, and does not in any way entail that 0 is a set.

--
Aatu Koskensilta (aatu.koskensilta@xxxxxxxxx)

"Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, daruber muss man schweigen"
- Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus
.

Follow-Ups:
- Re: Is the empty set a number?
  - From: Julio Di Egidio
- Re: Is the empty set a number?
  - From: Mariano Suárez-Alvarez

References:
- Is the empty set a number?
  - From: jonas . thornvall
- Re: Is the empty set a number?
  - From: Aatu Koskensilta
- Re: Is the empty set a number?
  - From: jonas . thornvall
- Re: Is the empty set a number?
  - From: Herman Rubin

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