Ordinal Number

🅟 Mar 01, 2026

  🅤 Apr 20, 2026

ORD#DEF. Ordinal Number.

  • An ordinal number / ordinal is a transitive set that is strictly well-ordered by $\in$.

  • The class of all ordinals is denoted by $\Ord$.

ORD#DEF-LT.

For two ordinals $\alpha$ and $\beta$, we define the following total order on $\Ord$:

\[\alpha < \beta \enspace\lrimp\enspace \alpha\in\beta.\]

ORD#PROP-EMP.

$0:=\varnothing$ is an ordinal.


ORD#PROP-EL.

Every element of an ordinal is an ordinal.

ORD#PROP-SUB.

For any two ordinals $\alpha$ and $\beta$:

  1. \[\alpha\subseteq\beta \enspace\lor\enspace \beta\subseteq\alpha.\]
  2. \[\alpha\subset\beta \enspace\rimp\enspace \alpha\in\beta.\]

ORD#PROP-S.

For any ordinal $\alpha$,

\[\alpha = \{\beta:\beta < \alpha\}.\]

ORD#PROP-IT.

If $C$ is a non-empty class of ordinals, then $\bigcap C$ is an ordinal and

\[\bigcap C \,=\, \inf C \,\in\, C.\]

ORD#PROP-U.

If $X$ is a non-empty set of ordinals, then $\bigcup X$ is an ordinal and

\[\bigcup X = \sup X.\]

ORD#PROP-BF. Burali-Forti Paradox.

$\Ord$ is a proper class.

Proof 1.By ORD#PROP-U, $\sup\Ord$ would be an ordinal, hence

\[(\sup\Ord)+1 \leq \sup\Ord,\]

a contradiction.

Proof 2.By CA#PROP-PC, $\Card$ is a proper class. Since $\Card\subset\Ord$, $\Ord$ is a proper class.