set theory : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: set theory	by the DICT Development Group
2 results for set theory
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
set theory n the branch of pure mathematics that deals with the nature and relations of sets
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (15Feb98) [foldoc]:
set theory A mathematical formalisation of the theory of "sets" (aggregates or collections) of objects ("elements" or "members"). Many mathematicians use set theory as the basis for all other mathematics. Mathematicians began to realise toward the end of the 19th century that just doing "the obvious thing" with sets led to embarrassing {paradox}es, the most famous being {Russell's Paradox}. As a result, they acknowledged the need for a suitable {axiomatisation} for talking about sets. Numerous such axiomatisations exist; the most popular among ordinary mathematicians is {Zermelo Fränkel set theory}. {The beginnings of set theory (http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/HistoryTopics.html)}. (1995-05-10)