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Axiom
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Anaxiomorpostulateisastatementthatistakentobetrue,toserveasapremiseorstartingpointforfurther
reasoningandarguments.ThewordcomesfromtheGreekaxma()'thatwhichisthoughtworthyor
fit'or'thatwhichcommendsitselfasevident.'[1][2]
Thetermhassubtledifferencesindefinitionwhenusedinthecontextofdifferentfieldsofstudy.Asdefinedin
classicphilosophy,anaxiomisastatementthatissoevidentorwellestablished,thatitisacceptedwithout
controversyorquestion.[3]Asusedinmodernlogic,anaxiomissimplyapremiseorstartingpointfor
reasoning.[4]
Asusedinmathematics,thetermaxiomisusedintworelatedbutdistinguishablesenses:"logicalaxioms"and
"nonlogicalaxioms".Logicalaxiomsareusuallystatementsthataretakentobetruewithinthesystemoflogic
theydefine(e.g.,(AandB)impliesA),oftenshowninsymbolicform,whilenonlogicalaxioms(e.g.,
a+b=b+a)areactuallysubstantiveassertionsabouttheelementsofthedomainofaspecificmathematical
theory(suchasarithmetic).Whenusedinthelattersense,"axiom","postulate",and"assumption"maybeused
interchangeably.Ingeneral,anonlogicalaxiomisnotaselfevidenttruth,butratheraformallogical
expressionusedindeductiontobuildamathematicaltheory.Asmodernmathematicsadmitsmultiple,equally
"true"systemsoflogic,preciselythesamethingmustbesaidforlogicalaxiomstheybothdefineandare
specifictotheparticularsystemoflogicthatisbeinginvoked.Toaxiomatizeasystemofknowledgeistoshow
thatitsclaimscanbederivedfromasmall,wellunderstoodsetofsentences(theaxioms).Therearetypically
multiplewaystoaxiomatizeagivenmathematicaldomain.
Inbothsenses,anaxiomisanymathematicalstatementthatservesasastartingpointfromwhichother
statementsarelogicallyderived.Withinthesystemtheydefine,axioms(unlessredundant)cannotbederivedby
principlesofdeduction,noraretheydemonstrablebymathematicalproofs,simplybecausetheyarestarting
pointsthereisnothingelsefromwhichtheylogicallyfollowotherwisetheywouldbeclassifiedastheorems.
However,anaxiominonesystemmaybeatheoreminanother,andviceversa.Whetheritismeaningful(and,
ifso,whatitmeans)foranaxiom,oranymathematicalstatement,tobe"true"isanopenquestioninthe
philosophyofmathematics.[5]

Contents
1 Etymology
2 Historicaldevelopment
2.1 EarlyGreeks
2.2 Moderndevelopment
2.3 Othersciences
3 Mathematicallogic
3.1 Logicalaxioms
3.1.1 Examples
3.1.1.1 Propositionallogic
3.1.1.2 Firstorderlogic
3.2 Nonlogicalaxioms
3.2.1 Examples
3.2.1.1 Arithmetic
3.2.1.2 Euclideangeometry
3.2.1.3 Realanalysis
3.3 Roleinmathematicallogic
3.3.1 Deductivesystemsandcompleteness
3.4 Furtherdiscussion
4 Seealso
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4
5
6
7

Seealso
References
Furtherreading
Externallinks

Etymology
Theword"axiom"comesfromtheGreekword(axioma),averbalnounfromtheverb(axioein),
meaning"todeemworthy",butalso"torequire",whichinturncomesfrom(axios),meaning"beingin
balance",andhence"having(thesame)value(as)","worthy","proper".AmongtheancientGreekphilosophers
anaxiomwasaclaimwhichcouldbeseentobetruewithoutanyneedforproof.
Therootmeaningoftheword'postulate'isto'demand'forinstance,Eucliddemandsofusthatweagreethat
somethingscanbedone,e.g.anytwopointscanbejoinedbyastraightline,etc.[6]
Ancientgeometersmaintainedsomedistinctionbetweenaxiomsandpostulates.WhilecommentingonEuclid's
books,Proclusremarksthat,"Geminusheldthatthis[4th]Postulateshouldnotbeclassedasapostulatebutas
anaxiom,sinceitdoesnot,likethefirstthreePostulates,assertthepossibilityofsomeconstructionbut
expressesanessentialproperty."[7]Boethiustranslated'postulate'aspetitioandcalledtheaxiomsnotiones
communesbutinlatermanuscriptsthisusagewasnotalwaysstrictlykept.

Historicaldevelopment
EarlyGreeks
Thelogicodeductivemethodwherebyconclusions(newknowledge)followfrompremises(oldknowledge)
throughtheapplicationofsoundarguments(syllogisms,rulesofinference),wasdevelopedbytheancient
Greeks,andhasbecomethecoreprincipleofmodernmathematics.Tautologiesexcluded,nothingcanbe
deducedifnothingisassumed.Axiomsandpostulatesarethebasicassumptionsunderlyingagivenbodyof
deductiveknowledge.Theyareacceptedwithoutdemonstration.Allotherassertions(theorems,ifweare
talkingaboutmathematics)mustbeprovenwiththeaidofthesebasicassumptions.However,theinterpretation
ofmathematicalknowledgehaschangedfromancienttimestothemodern,andconsequentlythetermsaxiom
andpostulateholdaslightlydifferentmeaningforthepresentdaymathematician,thantheydidforAristotle
andEuclid.
TheancientGreeksconsideredgeometryasjustoneofseveralsciences,andheldthetheoremsofgeometryon
parwithscientificfacts.Assuch,theydevelopedandusedthelogicodeductivemethodasameansofavoiding
error,andforstructuringandcommunicatingknowledge.Aristotle'sposterioranalyticsisadefinitive
expositionoftheclassicalview.
An"axiom",inclassicalterminology,referredtoaselfevidentassumptioncommontomanybranchesof
science.Agoodexamplewouldbetheassertionthat
Whenanequalamountistakenfromequals,anequalamountresults.
Atthefoundationofthevariousscienceslaycertainadditionalhypotheseswhichwereacceptedwithoutproof.
Suchahypothesiswastermedapostulate.Whiletheaxiomswerecommontomanysciences,thepostulatesof
eachparticularscienceweredifferent.Theirvalidityhadtobeestablishedbymeansofrealworldexperience.
Indeed,Aristotlewarnsthatthecontentofasciencecannotbesuccessfullycommunicated,ifthelearnerisin
doubtaboutthetruthofthepostulates.[8]
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TheclassicalapproachiswellillustratedbyEuclid'sElements,wherealistofpostulatesisgiven(common
sensicalgeometricfactsdrawnfromourexperience),followedbyalistof"commonnotions"(verybasic,self
evidentassertions).
Postulates
1.Itispossibletodrawastraightlinefromanypointtoanyotherpoint.
2.Itispossibletoextendalinesegmentcontinuouslyinbothdirections.
3.Itispossibletodescribeacirclewithanycenterandanyradius.
4.Itistruethatallrightanglesareequaltooneanother.
5.("Parallelpostulate")Itistruethat,ifastraightlinefallingontwostraightlinesmaketheinterior
anglesonthesamesidelessthantworightangles,thetwostraightlines,ifproducedindefinitely,
intersectonthatsideonwhicharetheangleslessthanthetworightangles.
Commonnotions
1.Thingswhichareequaltothesamethingarealsoequaltooneanother.
2.Ifequalsareaddedtoequals,thewholesareequal.
3.Ifequalsaresubtractedfromequals,theremaindersareequal.
4.Thingswhichcoincidewithoneanotherareequaltooneanother.
5.Thewholeisgreaterthanthepart.

Moderndevelopment
Alessonlearnedbymathematicsinthelast150yearsisthatitisusefultostripthemeaningawayfromthe
mathematicalassertions(axioms,postulates,propositions,theorems)anddefinitions.Onemustconcedethe
needforprimitivenotions,orundefinedtermsorconcepts,inanystudy.Suchabstractionorformalization
makesmathematicalknowledgemoregeneral,capableofmultipledifferentmeanings,andthereforeusefulin
multiplecontexts.AlessandroPadoa,MarioPieri,andGiuseppePeanowerepioneersinthismovement.
Structuralistmathematicsgoesfurther,anddevelopstheoriesandaxioms(e.g.fieldtheory,grouptheory,
topology,vectorspaces)withoutanyparticularapplicationinmind.Thedistinctionbetweenan"axiom"anda
"postulate"disappears.ThepostulatesofEuclidareprofitablymotivatedbysayingthattheyleadtoagreat
wealthofgeometricfacts.Thetruthofthesecomplicatedfactsrestsontheacceptanceofthebasichypotheses.
However,bythrowingoutEuclid'sfifthpostulatewegettheoriesthathavemeaninginwidercontexts,
hyperbolicgeometryforexample.Wemustsimplybepreparedtouselabelslike"line"and"parallel"with
greaterflexibility.Thedevelopmentofhyperbolicgeometrytaughtmathematiciansthatpostulatesshouldbe
regardedaspurelyformalstatements,andnotasfactsbasedonexperience.
Whenmathematiciansemploythefieldaxioms,theintentionsareevenmoreabstract.Thepropositionsoffield
theorydonotconcernanyoneparticularapplicationthemathematiciannowworksincompleteabstraction.
Therearemanyexamplesoffieldsfieldtheorygivescorrectknowledgeaboutthemall.
Itisnotcorrecttosaythattheaxiomsoffieldtheoryare"propositionsthatareregardedastruewithoutproof."
Rather,thefieldaxiomsareasetofconstraints.Ifanygivensystemofadditionandmultiplicationsatisfies
theseconstraints,thenoneisinapositiontoinstantlyknowagreatdealofextrainformationaboutthissystem.
Modernmathematicsformalizesitsfoundationstosuchanextentthatmathematicaltheoriescanberegardedas
mathematicalobjects,andmathematicsitselfcanberegardedasabranchoflogic.Frege,Russell,Poincar,
Hilbert,andGdelaresomeofthekeyfiguresinthisdevelopment.
Inthemodernunderstanding,asetofaxiomsisanycollectionofformallystatedassertionsfromwhichother
formallystatedassertionsfollowbytheapplicationofcertainwelldefinedrules.Inthisview,logicbecomes
justanotherformalsystem.Asetofaxiomsshouldbeconsistentitshouldbeimpossibletoderivea
contradictionfromtheaxiom.Asetofaxiomsshouldalsobenonredundantanassertionthatcanbededuced
fromotheraxiomsneednotberegardedasanaxiom.
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Itwastheearlyhopeofmodernlogiciansthatvariousbranchesofmathematics,perhapsallofmathematics,
couldbederivedfromaconsistentcollectionofbasicaxioms.Anearlysuccessoftheformalistprogramwas
Hilbert'sformalizationofEuclideangeometry,andtherelateddemonstrationoftheconsistencyofthose
axioms.
Inawidercontext,therewasanattempttobaseallofmathematicsonCantor'ssettheory.Heretheemergence
ofRussell'sparadox,andsimilarantinomiesofnavesettheoryraisedthepossibilitythatanysuchsystem
couldturnouttobeinconsistent.
Theformalistprojectsufferedadecisivesetback,whenin1931Gdelshowedthatitispossible,forany
sufficientlylargesetofaxioms(Peano'saxioms,forexample)toconstructastatementwhosetruthis
independentofthatsetofaxioms.Asacorollary,GdelprovedthattheconsistencyofatheorylikePeano
arithmeticisanunprovableassertionwithinthescopeofthattheory.
ItisreasonabletobelieveintheconsistencyofPeanoarithmeticbecauseitissatisfiedbythesystemofnatural
numbers,aninfinitebutintuitivelyaccessibleformalsystem.However,atpresent,thereisnoknownwayof
demonstratingtheconsistencyofthemodernZermeloFraenkelaxiomsforsettheory.Furthermore,using
techniquesofforcing(Cohen)onecanshowthatthecontinuumhypothesis(Cantor)isindependentofthe
ZermeloFraenkelaxioms.Thus,eventhisverygeneralsetofaxiomscannotberegardedasthedefinitive
foundationformathematics.

Othersciences
Axiomsplayakeyrolenotonlyinmathematics,butalsoinothersciences,notablyintheoreticalphysics.In
particular,themonumentalworkofIsaacNewtonisessentiallybasedonEuclid'saxioms,augmentedbya
postulateonthenonrelationofspacetimeandthephysicstakingplaceinitatanymoment.
In1905,Newton'saxiomswerereplacedbythoseofAlbertEinstein'sspecialrelativity,andlateronbythoseof
generalrelativity.
AnotherpaperofAlbertEinsteinandcoworkers(seeEPRparadox),almostimmediatelycontradictedbyNiels
Bohr,concernedtheinterpretationofquantummechanics.Thiswasin1935.AccordingtoBohr,thisnew
theoryshouldbeprobabilistic,whereasaccordingtoEinsteinitshouldbedeterministic.Notably,theunderlying
quantummechanicaltheory,i.e.thesetof"theorems"derivedbyit,seemedtobeidentical.Einsteineven
assumedthatitwouldbesufficienttoaddtoquantummechanics"hiddenvariables"toenforcedeterminism.
However,thirtyyearslater,in1964,JohnBellfoundatheorem,involvingcomplicatedopticalcorrelations(see
Bellinequalities),whichyieldedmeasurablydifferentresultsusingEinstein'saxiomscomparedtousingBohr's
axioms.AndittookroughlyanothertwentyyearsuntilanexperimentofAlainAspectgotresultsinfavourof
Bohr'saxioms,notEinstein's.(Bohr'saxiomsaresimply:Thetheoryshouldbeprobabilisticinthesenseofthe
Copenhageninterpretation.)
Asaconsequence,itisnotnecessarytoexplicitlyciteEinstein'saxioms,themoresosincetheyconcernsubtle
pointsonthe"reality"and"locality"ofexperiments.
Regardless,theroleofaxiomsinmathematicsandintheabovementionedsciencesisdifferent.Inmathematics
oneneither"proves"nor"disproves"anaxiomforasetoftheoremsthepointissimplythatintheconceptual
realmidentifiedbytheaxioms,thetheoremslogicallyfollow.Incontrast,inphysicsacomparisonwith
experimentsalwaysmakessense,sinceafalsifiedphysicaltheoryneedsmodification.

Mathematicallogic
Inthefieldofmathematicallogic,acleardistinctionismadebetweentwonotionsofaxioms:logicalandnon
logical(somewhatsimilartotheancientdistinctionbetween"axioms"and"postulates"respectively).

Logicalaxioms
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Thesearecertainformulasinaformallanguagethatareuniversallyvalid,thatis,formulasthataresatisfiedby
everyassignmentofvalues.Usuallyonetakesaslogicalaxiomsatleastsomeminimalsetoftautologiesthatis
sufficientforprovingalltautologiesinthelanguageinthecaseofpredicatelogicmorelogicalaxiomsthan
thatarerequired,inordertoprovelogicaltruthsthatarenottautologiesinthestrictsense.
Examples
Propositionallogic

Inpropositionallogicitiscommontotakeaslogicalaxiomsallformulaeofthefollowingforms,where , ,
and canbeanyformulaeofthelanguageandwheretheincludedprimitiveconnectivesareonly" "for
negationoftheimmediatelyfollowingpropositionand" "forimplicationfromantecedenttoconsequent
propositions:
1.
2.
3.
Eachofthesepatternsisanaxiomschema,aruleforgeneratinganinfinitenumberofaxioms.Forexample,if
, ,and arepropositionalvariables,then
and
areboth
instancesofaxiomschema1,andhenceareaxioms.Itcanbeshownthatwithonlythesethreeaxiomschemata
andmodusponens,onecanprovealltautologiesofthepropositionalcalculus.Itcanalsobeshownthatnopair
oftheseschemataissufficientforprovingalltautologieswithmodusponens.
Otheraxiomschemasinvolvingthesameordifferentsetsofprimitiveconnectivescanbealternatively
constructed.[9]
Theseaxiomschemataarealsousedinthepredicatecalculus,butadditionallogicalaxiomsareneededto
includeaquantifierinthecalculus.[10]
Firstorderlogic

AxiomofEquality.Let beafirstorderlanguage.Foreachvariable ,theformula

isuniversallyvalid.
Thismeansthat,foranyvariablesymbol theformula
canberegardedasanaxiom.Also,inthis
example,forthisnottofallintovaguenessandaneverendingseriesof"primitivenotions",eitheraprecise
notionofwhatwemeanby
(or,forthatmatter,"tobeequal")hastobewellestablishedfirst,orapurely
formalandsyntacticalusageofthesymbol hastobeenforced,onlyregardingitasastringandonlyastring
ofsymbols,andmathematicallogicdoesindeeddothat.
Another,moreinterestingexampleaxiomscheme,isthatwhichprovidesuswithwhatisknownasUniversal
Instantiation:
AxiomschemeforUniversalInstantiation.Givenaformula inafirstorderlanguage ,avariable and
aterm thatissubstitutablefor in ,theformula

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isuniversallyvalid.
Wherethesymbol standsfortheformula withtheterm substitutedfor .(SeeSubstitutionof
variables.)Ininformalterms,thisexampleallowsustostatethat,ifweknowthatacertainproperty holds
forevery andthat standsforaparticularobjectinourstructure,thenweshouldbeabletoclaim
.
Again,weareclaimingthattheformula
isvalid,thatis,wemustbeabletogivea"proof"ofthis
fact,ormoreproperlyspeaking,ametaproof.Actually,theseexamplesaremetatheoremsofourtheoryof
mathematicallogicsincewearedealingwiththeveryconceptofproofitself.Asidefromthis,wecanalsohave
ExistentialGeneralization:
AxiomschemeforExistentialGeneralization.Givenaformula inafirstorderlanguage ,avariable
andaterm thatissubstitutablefor in ,theformula

isuniversallyvalid.

Nonlogicalaxioms
Nonlogicalaxiomsareformulasthatplaytheroleoftheoryspecificassumptions.Reasoningabouttwo
differentstructures,forexamplethenaturalnumbersandtheintegers,mayinvolvethesamelogicalaxiomsthe
nonlogicalaxiomsaimtocapturewhatisspecialaboutaparticularstructure(orsetofstructures,suchas
groups).Thusnonlogicalaxioms,unlikelogicalaxioms,arenottautologies.Anothernameforanonlogical
axiomispostulate.[11]
Almosteverymodernmathematicaltheorystartsfromagivensetofnonlogicalaxioms,anditwasthought
thatinprincipleeverytheorycouldbeaxiomatizedinthiswayandformalizeddowntothebarelanguageof
logicalformulas.
Nonlogicalaxiomsareoftensimplyreferredtoasaxiomsinmathematicaldiscourse.Thisdoesnotmeanthatit
isclaimedthattheyaretrueinsomeabsolutesense.Forexample,insomegroups,thegroupoperationis
commutative,andthiscanbeassertedwiththeintroductionofanadditionalaxiom,butwithoutthisaxiomwe
candoquitewelldeveloping(themoregeneral)grouptheory,andwecaneventakeitsnegationasanaxiom
forthestudyofnoncommutativegroups.
Thus,anaxiomisanelementarybasisforaformallogicsystemthattogetherwiththerulesofinferencedefine
adeductivesystem.
Examples
Thissectiongivesexamplesofmathematicaltheoriesthataredevelopedentirelyfromasetofnonlogical
axioms(axioms,henceforth).Arigoroustreatmentofanyofthesetopicsbeginswithaspecificationofthese
axioms.
Basictheories,suchasarithmetic,realanalysisandcomplexanalysisareoftenintroducednonaxiomatically,
butimplicitlyorexplicitlythereisgenerallyanassumptionthattheaxiomsbeingusedaretheaxiomsof
ZermeloFraenkelsettheorywithchoice,abbreviatedZFC,orsomeverysimilarsystemofaxiomaticset
theorylikeVonNeumannBernaysGdelsettheory,aconservativeextensionofZFC.Sometimesslightly
strongertheoriessuchasMorseKelleysettheoryorsettheorywithastronglyinaccessiblecardinalallowing
theuseofaGrothendieckuniverseareused,butinfactmostmathematicianscanactuallyprovealltheyneedin
systemsweakerthanZFC,suchassecondorderarithmetic.
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Thestudyoftopologyinmathematicsextendsalloverthroughpointsettopology,algebraictopology,
differentialtopology,andalltherelatedparaphernalia,suchashomologytheory,homotopytheory.The
developmentofabstractalgebrabroughtwithitselfgrouptheory,rings,fields,andGaloistheory.
Thislistcouldbeexpandedtoincludemostfieldsofmathematics,includingmeasuretheory,ergodictheory,
probability,representationtheory,anddifferentialgeometry.
Combinatoricsisanexampleofafieldofmathematicswhichdoesnot,ingeneral,followtheaxiomatic
method.
Arithmetic

ThePeanoaxiomsarethemostwidelyusedaxiomatizationoffirstorderarithmetic.Theyareasetofaxioms
strongenoughtoprovemanyimportantfactsaboutnumbertheoryandtheyallowedGdeltoestablishhis
famoussecondincompletenesstheorem.[12]
Wehavealanguage
axioms:

where isaconstantsymboland isaunaryfunctionandthefollowing

1.
2.
3.

forany

formula withonefreevariable.

Thestandardstructureis
where isthesetofnaturalnumbers, isthesuccessorfunctionand
isnaturallyinterpretedasthenumber0.
Euclideangeometry

Probablytheoldest,andmostfamous,listofaxiomsarethe4+1Euclid'spostulatesofplanegeometry.The
axiomsarereferredtoas"4+1"becausefornearlytwomillenniathefifth(parallel)postulate("throughapoint
outsidealinethereisexactlyoneparallel")wassuspectedofbeingderivablefromthefirstfour.Ultimately,the
fifthpostulatewasfoundtobeindependentofthefirstfour.Indeed,onecanassumethatexactlyoneparallel
throughapointoutsidealineexists,orthatinfinitelymanyexist.Thischoicegivesustwoalternativeformsof
geometryinwhichtheinterioranglesofatriangleadduptoexactly180degreesorless,respectively,andare
knownasEuclideanandhyperbolicgeometries.Ifonealsoremovesthesecondpostulate("alinecanbe
extendedindefinitely")thenellipticgeometryarises,wherethereisnoparallelthroughapointoutsidealine,
andinwhichtheinterioranglesofatriangleadduptomorethan180degrees.
Realanalysis

Theobjectivesofstudyarewithinthedomainofrealnumbers.Therealnumbersareuniquelypickedout(upto
isomorphism)bythepropertiesofaDedekindcompleteorderedfield,meaningthatanynonemptysetofreal
numberswithanupperboundhasaleastupperbound.However,expressingthesepropertiesasaxiomsrequires
useofsecondorderlogic.TheLwenheimSkolemtheoremstellusthatifwerestrictourselvestofirstorder
logic,anyaxiomsystemfortherealsadmitsothermodels,includingbothmodelsthataresmallerthanthereals
andmodelsthatarelarger.Someofthelatterarestudiedinnonstandardanalysis.

Roleinmathematicallogic
Deductivesystemsandcompleteness
Adeductivesystemconsistsofaset oflogicalaxioms,aset ofnonlogicalaxioms,andaset
rulesofinference.Adesirablepropertyofadeductivesystemisthatitbecomplete.Asystemissaidtobe
completeif,forallformulas ,
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thatis,foranystatementthatisalogicalconsequenceof thereactuallyexistsadeductionofthestatement
from .Thisissometimesexpressedas"everythingthatistrueisprovable",butitmustbeunderstoodthat
"true"heremeans"madetruebythesetofaxioms",andnot,forexample,"trueintheintendedinterpretation".
Gdel'scompletenesstheoremestablishesthecompletenessofacertaincommonlyusedtypeofdeductive
system.
Notethat"completeness"hasadifferentmeaningherethanitdoesinthecontextofGdel'sfirst
incompletenesstheorem,whichstatesthatnorecursive,consistentsetofnonlogicalaxioms oftheTheory
ofArithmeticiscomplete,inthesensethattherewillalwaysexistanarithmeticstatement suchthatneither
nor canbeprovedfromthegivensetofaxioms.
Thereisthus,ontheonehand,thenotionofcompletenessofadeductivesystemandontheotherhandthatof
completenessofasetofnonlogicalaxioms.Thecompletenesstheoremandtheincompletenesstheorem,
despitetheirnames,donotcontradictoneanother.

Furtherdiscussion
Earlymathematiciansregardedaxiomaticgeometryasamodelofphysicalspace,andobviouslytherecould
onlybeonesuchmodel.Theideathatalternativemathematicalsystemsmightexistwasverytroublingto
mathematiciansofthe19thcenturyandthedevelopersofsystemssuchasBooleanalgebramadeelaborate
effortstoderivethemfromtraditionalarithmetic.Galoisshowedjustbeforehisuntimelydeaththatthese
effortswerelargelywasted.Ultimately,theabstractparallelsbetweenalgebraicsystemswereseentobemore
importantthanthedetailsandmodernalgebrawasborn.Inthemodernviewaxiomsmaybeanysetof
formulas,aslongastheyarenotknowntobeinconsistent.

Seealso
Axiomaticsystem
Dogma
Listofaxioms
Modeltheory
RegulJuris
Theorem
Presupposition

References
1.Cf.axiom,n.,etymology.OxfordEnglishDictionary,accessed20120428.
2.OxfordAmericanCollegeDictionary:"n.astatementorpropositionthatisregardedasbeingestablished,accepted,or
selfevidentlytrue.ORIGIN:late15thcent.:ultimatelyfromGreekaxima'whatisthoughtfitting,'fromaxios
'worthy.'http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1O997axiom.html(subscriptionrequired)
3."Apropositionthatcommendsitselftogeneralacceptanceawellestablishedoruniversallyconcededprinciplea
maxim,rule,law"axiom,n.,definition1a.OxfordEnglishDictionaryOnline,accessed20120428.Cf.Aristotle,
PosteriorAnalyticsI.2.72a18b4.
4."Aproposition(whethertrueorfalse)"axiom,n.,definition2.OxfordEnglishDictionaryOnline,accessed201204
28.
5.SeeforexampleMaddy,Penelope(Jun1988)."BelievingtheAxioms,I".JournalofSymbolicLogic.53(2):481
511.doi:10.2307/2274520.forarealistview.
6.Wolff,P.BreakthroughsinMathematics,1963,NewYork:NewAmericanLibrary,pp478
7.Heath,T.1956.TheThirteenBooksofEuclid'sElements.NewYork:Dover.p200
8.Aristotle,MetaphysicsBkIV,Chapter3,1005b"PhysicsalsoisakindofWisdom,butitisnotthefirstkind.And
theattemptsofsomeofthosewhodiscussthetermsonwhichtruthshouldbeaccepted,areduetowantoftrainingin
logicfortheyshouldknowthesethingsalreadywhentheycometoaspecialstudy,andnotbeinquiringintothem
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whiletheyarelisteningtolecturesonit."W.D.Rosstranslation,inTheBasicWorksofAristotle,ed.Richard
McKeon,(RandomHouse,NewYork,1941)|date=June2011
9.Mendelson,"6.OtherAxiomatizations"ofCh.1
10.Mendelson,"3.FirstOrderTheories"ofCh.2
11.Mendelson,"3.FirstOrderTheories:ProperAxioms"ofCh.2
12.Mendelson,"5.TheFixedPointTheorem.Gdel'sIncompletenessTheorem"ofCh.2

Furtherreading
Mendelson,Elliot(1987).Introductiontomathematicallogic.Belmont,California:Wadsworth&
Brooks.ISBN0534066240
Wilson,JohnCook(1889).OnanEvolutionistTheoryofAxioms.Oxford:ClarendonPress.

Externallinks
"Axiom".EncyclopdiaBritannica.3(11thed.).1911.p.68.
Axiom(http://philpapers.org/s/axiom)atPhilPapers
Axiom(http://planetmath.org/Axiom)atPlanetMath.org.
Metamathaxiomspage(http://us.metamath.org/mpegif/mmset.ht
ml#axioms)

Lookupaxiomorgivenin
Wiktionary,thefree
dictionary.

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