Suspended in 2025/26
PH436 Half Unit
Set Theory
This information is for the 2025/26 session.
Course Convenor
Prof Miklos Redei
Dr Wesley Wrigley
Availability
This course is available on the MSc in Philosophy of Economics and the Social Sciences and MSc in Philosophy of Science. This course is freely available as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit. It does not require permission.
Requisites
Additional requisites:
MSc students taking this course should already have taken a year-long introductory course in logic in a philosophy department, or a mathematical course that covers the basics of set theory or logic.
Course content
The aim of the course is to make students of philosophy familiar with the elements of naive set theory. Two types of concepts and theorems are covered: (i) the ones needed to understand the basic notions, constructions and mode of thinking in modern mathematical logic (ii) those that have philosophical-conceptual significance in themselves (elementary theory of ordinals and cardinals, transfinite induction, Axiom of Choice, its equivalents and their non-constructive character, Continuum Hypothesis, set theoretical paradoxes such as Russell paradox). The emphasis is on the conceptual-structural elements rather than on technical-computational details. Not all theorems that are stated and discussed are proven and not all proofs are complete. Students taking this course should tolerate abstract mathematics well but it is not assumed that they know higher mathematics (such as linear algebra or calculus).
Teaching
15 hours of seminars and 15 hours of lectures in the Autumn Term.
This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Autumn Term.
10 x 1.5 hours of lectures and 10 x 1.5 hours of seminars in the Autumn Term.
Formative assessment
Students are required to submit solutions to two problem-sets, and write one essay (word limit 1500 words) on a topic selected from a list or proposed by the student and approved by the instructor in the AT.
Indicative reading
- Cameron, Peter J. 1999. Sets, Logic and Categories. Springer undergraduate mathematics series. London, Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer.
- Halmos, Paul: Naive Set Theory (Springer reprint 2011)
Assessment
Exam (100%), duration: 120 Minutes in the January exam period
The exam questions are chosen from a list of questions that are made available at the beginning of the academic year ("seen exam").
Key facts
Department: Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method
Course Study Period: Autumn Term
Unit value: Half unit
FHEQ Level: Level 7
CEFR Level: Null
Total students 2024/25: Unavailable
Average class size 2024/25: Unavailable
Controlled access 2024/25: NoCourse selection videos
Some departments have produced short videos to introduce their courses. Please refer to the course selection videos index page for further information.
Personal development skills
- Self-management
- Problem solving
- Application of numeracy skills
- Specialist skills