Fuzziness in extending General Topology using Fuzzy Sets

in C. L. Chang’s Fuzzy Topology

Robert Alfred C. Abella† and Reymond II E. Atienza‡
Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
University of the Philippines Baguio
rparagonv@gmail.com† , reymondiieatienza@gmail.com‡

May 16, 2015

Abstract
This paper is intended to introduce fuzzy sets and fuzzy topology defined by Chang. In line with that, we
study the notion of fuzzy topological spaces and as a consequence, its similarities to the ideas of general topology.
Furthermore, we shall see some ideas and results from general topology that can not be easily extended to the
concept of fuzzy topological spaces based on Chang’s definition. Lastly, we compare and contrast the differences
between fuzzy topological spaces and topological spaces. We can therefore establish preliminaries regarding the
generalization of general topology using fuzzy sets.

Introduction
In this physical world, the problem of classifying objects lead to what we now call fuzzy sets. Such problem
would include questions like, how would you classify women into the ”the class of beautiful women,” or animals, ”the
class of cute animals” and in what we are more familiar, ”the class of numbers larger than 1.”[17] Note that in the
sense of ordinary set, either you belong to the set or not. The notion of fuzzy set was first introduced in 1965 by
Zadeh and from this idea, several mathematical concepts were extended. These extensions include the generalization
of abstract structures such as fuzzy groups, fuzzy measures, fuzzy vector spaces, calculus of fuzzy restrictions, fuzzy
topology, etc.[1] Moreover, fuzzy sets can also be applied to numerous disciplines like, medical science, psychology,
computer science, linguistics, law, robotics, decision theory, and many more.[19] Roughly speaking, given any set,
a fuzzy set is defined by a set with a membership function that associates each element of the given set to a real
number in the closed interval 0 to 1. The image of an element under the said function gives the grade of membership
of that element in the fuzzy set.[17]

Set operations for fuzzy sets were also defined by Zadeh with the use of the grades of membership of the elements
of a given set. With this idea and since general topology was mainly based on set operations of union, intersection
and complementation,[14] Chang defined in 1968 the concept of fuzzy topology, which was the first extension of pure
mathematics using fuzzy sets, that gave rise to fuzzy topological spaces. From that day on, several concepts were
stretched from that of general topology. As early as now, there is a need to mention that there are deficiencies in
Chang’s definition of fuzzy topology that became a hindrance in the process of generalizing the general topology
which will be discussed in the next sections.

1
 The first and obvious objective of this paper is to introduce the idea of fuzzy sets as well as to see its wide
range of possible applications to different disciplines. Secondly, to acquire similar results from the basic ideas of
general topology. However, as mentioned above, we shall see that some notions of general topology can not be easily
extended using Chang’s definition. This results to a natural way to notice the differences of fuzzy topology to general
topology, that is, we shall be able to compare and contrast these two ideas.

From Chang’s [2] paper, he discussed about convergence of a sequence of a fuzzy, continuity and compactness
in a fuzzy topological space. Then, a number of publications regarding fuzzy topological spaces emerged after 1968
which provided a way to define quite a lot of similar ideas from general topology. Among these are the extension
of different kinds of topology like product and quotient topology which was elaborated by Wong [?]. Furthermore,
Wong published several papers about the countability and separation axioms in fuzzy topological spaces that lead to
the study of fuzzy Hausdorff spaces given by Srivastava [13] and Azad [1]. In addition, continuity and compactness in
these fuzzy topological spaces were studied. After two decades from 1968, Shostak [11] summarized the basic ideas,
notions and results of fuzzy topology which included the work of Lowen [8] that redefined the Chang’s topology. This
alteration of Chang’s [2] definition was due to its insufficiency to extend the concept of compactification of fuzzy
topological spaces.

For consistency, we shall always remind ourselves that we restrict our discussion to Chang’s [2] definition of
topology and the works mentioned above that used it. From this, we shall see the similarities between fuzzy topology
and general topology by looking at the analogue results and structure of proofs and to be able to determine the ones
that can not be extended by Chang’s topology. The outline of the paper is organized as follows: first, the preliminar-
ies are given; next, we discuss about the definitions and theorems regarding convergence, continuity, compactness,
connectedness, countability and separation axioms in fuzzy topological spaces as well as in fuzzy product and fuzzy
quotient topological spaces; finally, we summarize the results we have obtained and we compare and contrast the
differences between fuzzy topological spaces and general topology.

1 Preliminaries
Let X be a collection of objects. In classical set theory, X can be finite which is countable or countably infinite.
If we take any subset A of X and an arbitrary element x of X, then either x belongs to A or x is not. One may
describe A by listing all of its elements; or analytically, by providing conditions for an element to belong in the said
subset. Furthermore, the characteristic function can also be used to describe A with the representations 1 and 0
where 1 means that the element belongs to A and otherwise for the latter case. But for fuzzy sets, the characteristic
function does not take only the values 0 and 1 but also the real numbers between them.[19] For simplicity, we use
X = {x} in a sense that X is represented by a common element x.[2]

Definition 1.1. Let X be a collection of objects. A fuzzy set A in X is characterized by a membership function
µA (x) which associates with each point in X a real number in the interval [0, 1]. That is,

A = {(x, µA (x)) : x ∈ X}

Here, µA (x) is called the membership function or grade of membership of x in A.[19]

The nearer the value of µA (x) to the unity 1, the higher the grade of membership of x in A. On the other hand,
x will have a lower grade of membership in A if µA (x) is farther away from 1, that is, if µA (x) is closer to 0. This

2
definition will reduce to the familiar ordinary set if the membership function takes only the values 0 and 1 depending
on whether x belongs to A or not.[17] . Observe that the definition of a fuzzy set and the membership function is
a generalization of the ordinary set and the characteristic function, respectively.[19] Note that a fuzzy set is always
accompanied with a membership function where this function describes the extent of your belonging to the specific
”class” given.

[19]
EXAMPLE. Let X = R. Then the fuzzy set A described as ”real numbers considerably larger than 10” is given
by
A = {(x, µA (x)) : x ∈ R}

where 
0 if x ≤ 10
µA (x) = .
(1 + (x − 10)−2 )−1 if x > 10
From this example, notice that every element of R has a grade of membership in A as well as the membership function
µ is bounded.

Like in ordinary set, we denote the empty fuzzy set as ∅.

Definition 1.2. A fuzzy set is empty if and only if its membership function is identically zero on X, that is,
µ∅ (x) = 0 for all x in X. The fuzzy set X is given by µX (x) = 1 for all x ∈ X.

To achieve our goal, we first need to define the set operations for fuzzy sets since the general topology is mainly
based on unions, intersections and complementation. Note that there are other ideas that can be extracted from
fuzzy sets which are not needed in this study. For the fuzzy set theory, one may go into details by considering
Zimmermann [19]. If X is a collection of objects , the next definition tells us that the set operations for fuzzy sets
in X are based on the grade of membership of x in these fuzzy sets.

Definition 1.3. Let A and B be fuzzy sets in a space X = {x}, with the grades of membership of x in A and B
denoted by µA (x) and µB (x), respectively. Then, for all x ∈ X,

A = B ⇔ µA (x) = µB (x)
A ⊂ B ⇔ µA (x) ≤ µB (x)
C = A ∪ B ⇔ µC (x) = max{µA (x), µB (x)}
D = A ∩ B ⇔ µD (x) = min{µA (x), µB (x)}
E = A0 ⇔ µE (x) = 1 − µA (x)

REMARK. In ordinary sets, two sets A and B are said to be disjoint if A ∩ B = ∅. We define disjoint fuzzy sets in
a similar way as with ordinary sets. This means that A ∩ B = ∅ if min{µA (x), µB (x)} = 0 for all x ∈ X.

As a consequence of the above definition, we have the following.

3
Definition 1.4. Let A = {Ai | i ∈ I} be a family of fuzzy sets indexed by some indexing set I. Then, arbitrary
unions and intersections are defined by, for all x ∈ X,
[
C= Ai ⇔ µC (x) = sup{µAi (x)},
I
I
\
D= Ai ⇔ µD (x) = inf {µAi (x)}.
I
I

REMARK. As a consequence of definitions 1.3 and 1.4, we have the De Morgan’s Laws
0
(A ∪ B) = A0 ∩ B 0
0
(A ∩ B) = A0 ∪ B 0

and the Distributive Laws

C ∩ (A ∪ B) = (C ∩ A) ∪ (C ∩ B)
C ∪ (A ∩ B) = (C ∪ A) ∩ (C ∪ B) .

WARNING. From this point, we should always put in mind that whenever we use the set operations, De Morgan’s
laws, and the distributive laws for fuzzy sets, we are dealing with the grade of membership µA (x) of an element x in
a fuzzy set A in X.

The concept of mapping is much needed in general topology. Hence, it is natural to define a mapping between
fuzzy sets and is called a fuzzy function. As mentioned by Zimmermann (p. 91), there are ”degrees” of fuzzification
of the usual mappings to be considered when working with fuzzy sets.[19] However, Chang [2] used the notion of the
classical function and hence we shall only consider the concept of this familiar mapping. Similarly, we will use the
acquainted definitions of being a one-to-one of a function f and its ontoness. The next definition is for the image
and inverse image of a fuzzy set under the notion of the classical function.

REMARK. Throughout this paper, it is assumed that the functions that will be used are in the sense of classical
functions unless stated otherwise.

Definition 1.5. Let f be a function from X to Y . Let B be a fuzzy set in Y with membership function µB (y).
Then the inverse image of B, written as f −1 [B], is a fuzzy set in X whose membership function is defined by

µf −1 [B] (x) = µB (f (x))

for all x ∈ X.

Let A be a fuzzy set in X with membership function µA (x). The image of A, written as f [A], is a fuzzy set in
Y whose membership function is given by

sup
x∈f −1 [y] {µA (x)} if f −1 [y] 6= ∅,
µf [A] (y) =
0 otherwise

for all y in Y , where f −1 [y] = {x | f (x) = y}.

4
Here, we present some properties of fuzzy sets under a function.

Theorem 1.1. Let f be a function from X to Y. Then:

(a) f −1 [B 0 ] = {f −1 [B]}0 for any fuzzy set B in Y.

(b) {f [A]}0 ⊂ f [A0 ] for any fuzzy set A in X.

(c) B1 ⊂ B2 ⇒ f −1 [B1 ] ⊂ f −1 [B2 ], where B1 and B2 are fuzzy sets in Y.

(d) A1 ⊂ A2 ⇒ f [A1 ] ⊂ f [A2 ], where A1 and A2 are fuzzy sets in X.

(e) f [f −1 [B]] ⊂ B for any fuzzy set B in Y.

(f ) A ⊂ f −1 [f [A]] for any fuzzy set A in X.

(g) Let f : X → Y and g : Y → Z. Then (g ◦ f )−1 [C] = f −1 [g −1 [C]] for any fuzzy set C in Z, where g ◦ f is the
composition of g and f.

Proof. Let f be a function from X to Y .

(a) We need show that f −1 [B 0 ] = {f −1 [B]}0 for any fuzzy set B in Y , that is µf −1 [B 0 ] (x) = µ{f −1 [B]}0 (x). Note
that from definitions 1.3 and 1.6, we have, for all x ∈ X,

µf −1 [B 0 ] (x) = µB 0 (f (x))
= 1 − µB (f (x))
= 1 − µf −1 [B] (x)
= µ{f −1 [B]}0 (x).

Thus, f −1 [B 0 ] = {f −1 [B]}0 .

0
(b) We will show that f [A] ⊂ f [A0 ] that is µ{f [A]}0 (y) ≤ µf [A0 ] (y) for all y ∈ Y . For each y ∈ Y , if f −1 [y] is not
empty then from definitions 1.3 and 1.6 we have

µf [A0 ] (y) = sup {µA0 (x)}

x∈f −1 [y]

= sup {1 − µA (x)}
x∈f −1 [y]

=1− inf {µA (x)}

x∈f −1 [y]

and

µ{f [A]}0 (y) = 1 − {µf [A] (y)}

=1− sup {µA (x)}
x∈f −1 [y]

Since 1 − supx∈f −1 [y] {µA (x)} ≤ 1 − inf x∈f −1 [y] {µA (x)} then µ{f [A]}0 (y) ≤ µf [A0 ] (y) for all y ∈ Y .

5
(c) Let B1 and B2 be fuzzy sets in Y such that B1 ⊂ B2 . We show that f −1 [B1 ] ⊂ f −1 [B2 ]. By definition 1.6, for
all x ∈ X,
µf −1 [B1 ] (x) = µB1 (f (x))

and
µf −1 [B2 ] (x) = µB2 (f (x)).

Note that from definition 1.3 and since B1 ⊂ B2 , then

µB1 (f (x)) ≤ µB2 (f (x))

⇒ µf −1 [B1 ] (x) ≤ µf −1 [B2 ] (x)

Hence, f −1 [B1 ] ⊂ f −1 [B2 ] for all x ∈ X.

(d) Let A1 and A2 be fuzzy sets in X such that A1 ⊂ A2 . We show that f [A1 ] ⊂ f [A2 ]. By definition 1.6,

µf [A1 ] (y) = sup {µA1 (x)}

x∈f −1 [y]

and
µf [A2 ] (y) = sup {µA2 (x)}
x∈f −1 [y]

for f −1 [y] 6= ∅. Since A1 ⊂ A2 , then by definition 1.3,

µA1 (x) ≤ µA2 (x)

for all x ∈ X. Hence,

sup {µA1 (x)} ≤ sup {µA2 (x)}
x∈f −1 [y] x∈f −1 [y]

and so
µf [A1 ] (y) ≤ µf [A2 ] (y)

for all y ∈ Y . Thus, f [A1 ] ⊂ f [A2 ]. Conclusion holds trivially if f −1 [y] = ∅ since µA1 (x) = 0 and µA2 (x) = 0 which
implies that f [A1 ] ⊂ f [A2 ] by definition 1.3.

(e) For all y ∈ Y , if f −1 [y] is not empty then from definitions 1.6 and

µf [f −1 [B]] (y) = sup {µf −1 [B] (x)}

x∈f −1 [y]

= sup {µB f (x)}

x∈f −1 [y]

= µB (y)

Now if f −1 [y] is empty then

µf [f −1 [B]] (y) = sup {µf −1 [B] (x)} = 0
x∈f −1 [y]

Therefore µf [f −1 [B]] (y) ≤ µB (y) for all y ∈ Y .

(f ) Let A be an arbitrary fuzzy set in X. By definitions 1.6 and then for all x ∈ X

6
 µf −1 [f [A]] (x) = µf [A] (f (x))
= sup {µA (x)}
x∈f −1 [f (x)]

≥ µA (x)

Therefore, A ⊂ f −1 [f [A]] for any fuzzy set A in X.

(g) Let f : X → Y and g : Y → Z be functions and g ◦ f the composition of g and f . Let C be an arbitrary fuzzy
set in Z. By definition 1.6,

µ(g◦f )−1 [C] (x) = µC (g ◦ f (x))

= µC (g(f (x)))
= µg−1 [C] (f (x))
= µf −1 [g−1 [C]] (x).

Then by definition 1.3, we have (g ◦ f )−1 [C] = f −1 [g −1 [C]].

Referring to Zadeh [18], the concept of fuzzy singleton was introduced. Then Wong [15] used this to define a
fuzzy point which lead to the definition of a fuzzy point that belongs to a fuzzy set. This notions will be useful for
the study of countabality and separability in the next sections.

Definition 1.6. A fuzzy point p in X is a fuzzy set with membership function


t for x = x (0 < t < 1),
p
µp (x) =
0 for x = 6 xp

xp is called the support of p and t the value of p.

Definition 1.7. Let p be a fuzzy point and A a fuzzy set in X. Then p is said to belong in A or A contains p,
denoted p ∈ A, if and only if
µp (xp ) < µA (xp )
and if x 6= xp
µp (x) ≤ µA (x).

S
Theorem 1.2. Let I be any indexing set. Then p ∈ i∈I Ai if and only if p ∈ Ai for some i ∈ I.
S
Proof. Let p ∈ i∈I Ai . By the definition above, µp (xp ) < µSi∈I Ai (xp ) = supi µAi (xp ). Thus, µp (xp ) < µAi (xp )
for some i ∈ I. Therefore, p ∈ Ai for some i ∈ I. On the other hand, let p ∈ Ai for some i ∈ I. We have
S
µp (xp ) < µAi (xp ) < supi µAi (xp ). Therefore, p ∈ i∈I Ai .

The last definition given below is defined similarly as in that of general topology.

Definition 1.8. A family A of fuzzy sets has the finite intersection property if and only if the intersection of
the members of each subfamily of A is nonempty.

7
2 Fuzzy Topology
We are now ready to define a fuzzy topological space based on the notion of fuzzy sets discussed in the prelim-
inaries. We consider the basic concepts related to a fuzzy topological space such as open and closed fuzzy sets, a
neighborhood of a fuzzy set, interior and closure of a fuzzy set. The basis and subbasis of a fuzzy topological space
are also discussed.

Definition 2.1. A fuzzy topology is a family T of fuzzy sets in X which satisfies the following conditions:

(i) ∅, X ∈ T

(ii) If A, B ∈ T then A ∩ B ∈ T

(iii) If Ai ∈ T for each i ∈ I, then Ai ∈ T

S
i∈I

Here, T is called a fuzzy topology for X, and the pair (X, T ) is a fuzzy topological space or fts. Every member
of T is called a T -open fuzzy set.

Definition 2.2. A fuzzy set is T -closed if and only if its complement is T -open.

For simplicity, we shall call a T -open (T -closed) fuzzy set an open (closed) fuzzy set. As in usual topology, the
indiscrete fuzzy topology contains only ∅ and X, while the discrete fuzzy topology contains all fuzzy sets.

Definition 2.3. A fuzzy topology U is said to be coarser than a fuzzy topology T if and only if U ⊂ T .

In this definition, we can also say that T is finer that U .

Definition 2.4. A fuzzy set N in a fts (X, T ) is a neighborhood (nbhd) of a fuzzy set A if there exists an open
fuzzy set O such that A ⊂ O ⊂ N.

As we can see, an open fuzzy set is a neighborhood of itself. Indeed, from the definition, O is a subset of itself.
Also, notice that we define a neighborhood of a fuzzy set instead of neighborhood of a point. This definition is based
on Chang. The following result relates an open fuzzy set to a neighborhood.

Theorem 2.1. A fuzzy set A is open if and only if for each fuzzy set B contained in A, A is a nbhd of B.

Proof. Let (X, T ) be a fuzzy topological space.

(⇒) Suppose A is an open fuzzy set and B ⊂ A, where B is a fuzzy set. Note that B ⊂ A ⊂ A. Since A is
open, then by definition 2.4, A is a nbhd of B.

(⇐) Let A be a fuzzy set. Suppose that for every fuzzy set B such that B ⊂ A, A is a nbhd of B. Then A is
a nbhd of A because A ⊂ A. By definition 2.4, there exists an open fuzzy set O such that A ⊂ O ⊂ A which implies
that µA (x) ≥ µO (x) and µO (x) ≥ µA (x) for every x ∈ X. Thus, µA (x) = µO (x) and by definition 1.3, A = O.
Therefore, A is open.

8
Definition 2.5. The nbhd system of a fuzzy set is the collection of all neighborhoods of the fuzzy set.

Theorem 2.2. If N is the nbhd system of a fuzzy set, then finite intersections of members of N belong to N ,
and each fuzzy set which contains a member of N belongs to N .

Proof. Let N be the nbhd system of a fuzzy set A that is N is the collection of all nbhds of a fuzzy set A. If N1
and N2 are in N then from definition 2.4, there exist an open nbhds O1 and O2 of A satisfying A ⊂ O1 ⊂ N1 and
A ⊂ O2 ⊂ N2 , respectively. Hence we have A ⊂ O1 ∩ O2 ⊂ N1 ∩ N2 . This means that N1 ∩ N2 contains an open
nbhd O1 ∩O2 of A and thus N1 ∩N2 is a nbhd of A. We have shown that the intersection of two members of N is in N .

Now, if we let N1 ∩N2 = N3 and taking an arbitrary element of N , say N4 , we can repeat the same argument
above. Therefore, finite intersections of members of N belong to N . Also, if a fuzzy set B contains N ∈ N then
A ⊂ O ⊂ N ⊂ B. This implies that B is also a nbhd of A that is B ∈ N .

Definition 2.6. Let A and B be fuzzy sets in a fts (X, T ) and let B ⊂ A. Then B is called an interior fuzzy set of
A if A is a nbhd of B. The union of all interior fuzzy sets of A is called the interior of A and is denoted by Ao .

Similarly as in general topology, we can relate an open fuzzy set A to its interior Ao .

Theorem 2.3. Let A be a fuzzy set in a fts (X, T ). Then Ao is open and is the largest open fuzzy set contained
in A. The fuzzy set A is open if and only if A = Ao .

Proof. First, we show that Ao is open and is the largest open fuzzy set contained in A.

We claim that Ao is itself an interior fuzzy set of A. Note that Ao =

S
Bi , where Bi is an interior fuzzy
set of A for each i. Since each Bi is an interior fuzzy set of A, then by definition 2.6, A is a nbhd of Bi for all i. Then
A is also a nbhd of Bi which is equal to Ao . And so, A is a nbhd of Ao , that is, Ao itself is an interior fuzzy set of A.
S

Now, since A is a nbhd of Ao , there exists an open fuzzy set O such that Ao ⊂ O ⊂ A. Hence, Ao ⊂ O.
However, O is an interior fuzzy set of A since O is open and O ⊂ O ⊂ A, that is, A is a nbhd of O. Then O is
contained in Ao , that is, O ⊂ Ao since Ao is the union of all interior fuzzy sets of A. Thus, Ao = O and therefore Ao
is open.

It follows that Ao is the largest open fuzzy set contained in A. For if there exists an open set O0 such that
Ao ⊂ O0 ⊂ A, then A is a nbhd of O0 which means that O0 is an interior fuzzy set of A. Thus, O0 belongs to Ao .

We now show that A is open if and only if A = Ao . Suppose that A is open. Then A is a nbhd of itself.
Hence, A is an interior fuzzy set of A and so A ⊂ Ao . Note that Ao ⊂ A from the above proof. Thus, A = Ao . On
the other hand, assume that A = Ao . Since Ao is open, so is A.

9
 In general topology, a collection of subsets of X can be used to define the topology T on X.[9] For fuzzy topology,
we can define the base similarly.

Definition 2.7. Let T be a fuzzy topology. A subfamily B of T is a base for T if and only if each member of T
can be expressed as the union of some members of B.

Given a collection of open fuzzy sets in X, we can take the finite intersections of these open fuzzy sets and use
it to generate a base which in turn can generate the fuzzy topology on X.[9]

Definition 2.8. Let T be a fuzzy topology. A subfamily S of T is a subbase for T if and only if the family of
finite intersections of members of S forms a base for T .

For the next theorem, we can now use the notion of a fuzzy point to prove whether a subfamily B of T forms
a base of T .

Theorem 2.4. Let (X, T ) be a fts. Then a subfamily B of T forms a base of T if and only if for every member
A of T and for every fuzzy point p ∈ A, there exists a member B of B such that p ∈ B ⊂ A.

Proof. Let A ∈ T where p ∈ A. Since B is a base of T then by above definition, we have A =

S
B∈B B. From
theorem 1.2 and since p ∈ A then p ∈ B for some B ∈ B such that p ∈ B ⊂ A.
Conversely, we need to show that B of T forms a base of T . By assumption, there exists B ∈ B such that
p ∈ B ⊂ A. Now let X0 ⊂ X where µA (x) > 0 if x ∈ X0 and µA (x) = 0 if x ∈ X r X0 . Also suppose x0 ∈ X0 with
∞
µA (x0 ) = y0 > 0. Note that, y0 ≤ 1 then there exist a sequence of real numbers {yi }i=1 such that 0 < yi < y0 and
limi→∞ yi = y0 . We did this in order to define a sequence of fuzzy points pi by

y , for x = x ,
i 0
µpi (x) =
0 otherwise.

Notice that, since yi < y0 then µpi (x) < µA (x0 ). This means that pi ∈ A and by assumption pi ∈ B ⊂ A for some
B ∈ B. Taking the union of all B ∈ B over all i and points x0 ∈ X0 is A, that is, A = B∈B B. Therefore, B is a
S

base of T .

Definition 2.9. Let (X, T ) be a fuzzy topological space. Let A be an ordinary subset of X. Then the relative fuzzy
topology of A can be defined in the following way. The subset A of X (in the ordinary sense) has a characteristic
function say µA such that 
1 if x ∈ A,
µA (X) =
0 if x ∈
/A
Let
TA = {B ∩ A : B ∈ T }.

Then TA is called a fuzzy subspace topology on A.

10
 Let us check if TA is indeed a fuzzy subspace topology on A. Since ∅ ∈ T with membership function µ∅ (x) = 0
for all x ∈ X then min(µ∅ (x), µA (x)) = µ∅ (x) for each x ∈ X. This means that, ∅ ∩ A = ∅. Thus, we have ∅ ∈ TA .
Now, if µX (x) is the membership function of X, then min(µX (x), µA (x)) = µA (x) for each x ∈ X. Hence, A ∈ TA

Also, if we let BA , CA ∈ TA . Then, BA = B ∩ A and CA = C ∩ A where B, C ∈ T . So that, BA ∩ CA =

(B ∩ A) ∩ (C ∩ A) = (B ∩ C) ∩ A by distributive laws. Hence, BA ∩ CA ∈ TA .

For the last condition, suppose Bi ∈ TA . Then, i∈I Bi = i∈I (B ∩ A) where B ∈ B. Thus, i∈I Bi =
S S S

( i∈I B) ∩ A where i∈I B ∈ T and we can conclude that i∈I Bi ∈ TA . Therefore, TA is a fuzzy subspace
S S S

topology on A.

3 Convergence and F-Continuity

In this section, we introduce convergence of sequences of fuzzy sets and F-continuous functions.

3.1 Convergence
Before defining the convergence of a sequence of fuzzy sets, we need the following definitions that are analogous
to that of general topology.

Definition 3.1. A sequence of fuzzy sets, say (An )∞

n=1 is eventually contained in a fuzzy set A if and only if there
exists a number N ∈ N such that for n ≥ N , An ⊂ A. The sequence is frequently contained in A if and only if for
each integer N there is an integer n such that n ≥ N and An ⊂ A.

Definition 3.2. If the sequence is in a fts (X, T ), then we say that the sequence converges to fuzzy set A if and
only if it is eventually contained in each neighborhood of A.

Definition 3.3. Let N be a map from the set of non-negative integers to the set of non-negative integers. Then the
sequence (Bi )∞ ∞
i=1 is a subsequence of a sequence (An )n=1 if and only if there is a map N such that Bi = AN (i) and
for each integer m there is an integer n such that N (i) ≥ m whenever i ≥ n.

Definition 3.4. A fuzzy set A in a fts (X, T ) is a cluster fuzzy set of a sequence of fuzzy sets if and only if the
sequence is frequently contained in every neighborhood of A.

The definitions of subsequence of sequence of fuzzy sets and a cluster fuzzy set are needed to prove the following
theorem.

Theorem 3.1. If the nbhd system of each fuzzy set in a fts (X, T ) is countable then:

(a) A fuzzy set A is open if and only if each sequence of fuzzy sets (An )∞
n=1 which converges to a fuzzy set B
contained in A is eventually contained in A.

(b) If A is a cluster fuzzy set of a sequence (An )∞

n=1 of fuzzy sets then there is a subsequence of the sequence
converging to A.

11
 ∞
Proof. (a) Let {An }n=1 be a sequence of fuzzy sets which converges to a fuzzy set B ⊂ A. Since A is open then A
∞
is a nbhd of B because of Theorem 2.1. Therefore, {An }n=1 is eventually contained in A.

On the other hand, we want to show that A is open. Let N = {Ni : i = 1, 2, ...} be the nbhd system of
Tn
B for each B ⊂ A, that is, N is a collection of all nbhds of B. Now, define Vn = i=1 Ni . Then the sequence
∞ ∞
{Vn }n=1 is a sequence which is eventually contained in each nbhd of B, that is, {Vn }n=1 converges to B. Thus, by
our assumption, there exist N ∈ N such that for n ≥ N , Vn ⊂ A. Also, notice that all of Vn for n = 1, 2, ... are nbhds
of B from the construction. Thus, B ⊂ O ⊂ Vn ⊂ A where O is an open fuzzy set. This implies that A is a nbhd of
B and by Theorem 2.1, A is open.

∞
(b) Our goal is to show that there exists a subsequence of the sequence {An }n=1 that converges to A. Let
Sn ∞
N = {Ri : i = 1, 2, ...} be the nbhd system of A. Define Sn = i=1 Ri . Then {Sn }n=1 is a sequence such that
∞
Sn ⊂ Sn+1 for each n ∈ N. From the fact that A is a cluster fuzzy set of the sequence {An }n=1 then for each N ∈ N,
there exists n such that for n ≥ N , An ⊂ Ri where i = 1, 2, ... Now we are ready to construct a subsequence of
∞  ∞
{An }n=1 . Taking N = i from above and choosing N (i) such that N (i) ≥ i and AN (i) ⊂ Ri = Si then AN (i) n=1
∞
is a subsequence of the sequence {An }n=1 and this subsequence is eventually contained in all the nbhds Ri of A.
 ∞
Therefore, AN (i) n=1 converges to A.

3.2 F-continuity
The notion of continuity of a function in usual topology can also be defined in the sense of fuzzy topology which
we call F-continuity.

Definition 3.5. A function f from a fts (X, T ) to a fts (Y, U ) is F-continuous if and only if the inverse of each
U -open fuzzy set is T -open.

REMARK. If f : X → Y and g : Y → Z are two F-continuous functions, then the composition g ◦ f is also a
F-continuous function from X to Z.

Proof. Let g ◦ f : X → Z be a function. We show that g ◦ f is F- continuous. Let V be an arbitrary open fuzzy set
in Z. By Theorem 1.2, we have [g ◦ f ]−1 [V ] = f −1 [g −1 [V ]]. Since g is F-continuous then g −1 [V ] = U where U is
an open fuzzy set in Y . Also, f −1 [U ] = O where O is some open fuzzy set in X because f is F-continuous. Thus,
[g ◦ f ]−1 [V ] = O is an open fuzzy set in X. Therefore, g ◦ f is F- continuous.

Definition 3.6. A function f from a fts (X, T ) to a fts (Y, U ) is said to be F-open (F-closed) if and only if it
maps open (closed) fuzzy set in (X, T ) onto an open (closed) fuzzy set in (Y, U ) .

Theorem 3.2. If X and Y are fts’s, and f is a function on X to Y, then the conditions below are related as follows:
(a) and (b) are equivalent; (c) and (d) are equivalent; (a) implies (c), and (d) implies (e).

(a) The function f is F-continuous.

(b) The inverse of every closed fuzzy set in Y is closed in X.

(c) For each fuzzy set A in X, the inverse of every neighborhood of f [A] is a neighborhood of A.

(d) For each fuzzy set A in X and each neighborhood N2 of f [A], there is a neighborhood N1 of A such that
f [N1 ] ⊂ N2 .

12
 ∞ ∞
(e) For each sequence of fuzzy sets {An }n=1 in X which converges to a fuzzy set A in X, the sequence {f [An ]}n=1
converges to f [A].

Proof. (a) ⇔ (b) Assume that f is F − continuous. Let C ⊂ Y be a closed fuzzy set. Hence C 0 is an open fuzzy
set in Y. By assumption, f is F − continuous and from Theorem 1.1 (a), we have f −1 [C 0 ] = {f −1 [C]}0 = O. This
implies f −1 [C] = O0 where O0 is a closed fuzzy set in X.
On the other hand, let V be an open fuzzy set in Y . Thus, V 0 is a closed fuzzy set and by using the hypothesis
we have f −1 [V 0 ] = {f −1 [V ]}0 = C where C is a closed fuzzy set in X. Therefore, f −1 [V ] = C 0 = O where O is an
open fuzzy set in X. Therefore, f is F-continuous.

(a) ⇒ (c) Let A be a fuzzy set in X. Let N be a nbhd of f [A] ⊂ Y , that is, there exists an open fuzzy set
V such that f [A] ⊂ V ⊂ N . By Theorem 1.1 (c) , we have f −1 [f [A]] ⊂ f −1 [V ] ⊂ f −1 [N ]. Also, from Theorem 1.1
(f ), A ⊂ f −1 [f [A]] and by F-continuity of f , f −1 [V ] = U is open fuzzy set in X. Thus, A ⊂ U ⊂ f −1 [N ] and this
implies that f −1 [N ] is a nbhd of A.

(c) ⇒ (d) Let A be a fuzzy set in X and N2 be a nbhd of f [A]. By the hypothesis, f −1 [N2 ] = N1 is a nbhd
of A. Thus, from Theorem 1.1 (e) we have f [N1 ] = f [f −1 [N2 ] ⊂ N2 , that is, N1 is a nbhd of A such that f [N1 ] ⊂ N2 .

(d) ⇒ (c) Let A be a fuzzy set in X and N2 be a nbhd of f [A]. Then, there is a nbhd N1 of A such that
f [N1 ] ⊂ N2 . Notice that from Theorem 1.1 (c) and (f ) , we have f −1 [f [N1 ]] ⊂ f −1 [N2 ] and N1 ⊂ f −1 [f [N1 ]],
respectively. Thus, A ⊂ O ⊂ N1 ⊂ f −1 [N2 ] where O is an open fuzzy set in X. Therefore, f −1 [N2 ] is a nbhd of A.

(d) ⇒ (e) Let A be a fuzzy set in X and N2 be a nbhd of f [A]. From the assumption, there is a nbhd N1 of
∞ ∞
A such that f [N1 ] ⊂ N2 . Since the sequence {An }n=1 of fuzzy sets converges to the fuzzy set A, that is, {An }n=1 is
eventually contained in the nbhd N1 of A then there exists N ∈ N such that for n ≥ N , An ⊂ N1 . Thus, by Theorem
∞
1.1 (d ), f [An ] ⊂ f [N1 ] ⊂ N2 . Therefore, {f [An ]}n=1 converges to f [A].

We now proceed to describe a fuzzy homeomorphism f using the idea of F-continuity.

Definition 3.7. Let X and Y be fts’s. Then a mapping f : X → Y is called a fuzzy homeomorphism if f is a
one-to-one map from X onto Y and both f and f −1 are F-continuous.

Definition 3.8. Let X and Y be fts’s. If there exists a fuzzy homeomorphism of one fts onto another, then X and
Y are said to be F-homeomorphic and each is a fuzzy homeomorph of the other.

REMARK. Two fts’s are topologically F-equivalent if and only if they are F-homeomorphic.

13
4 Connectedness and Compactness
Connectedness and compactness of a fuzzy topological space will be confer here which are important properties
of a fuzzy topological space.

4.1 Connectedness
Definition 4.1. A fuzzy topological space X is said to be disconnected if X = A∪B where A and B are non-empty
open fuzzy sets in X such that A ∩ B = ∅. If X is not disconnected, then X is said to be connected.

REMARK. If X is disconnected, then A is the complement of B and vice versa. For if A ∩ B = ∅ and x ∈ X, then
we get, min{µA (x), µB (x)} = µ∅ (x) = 0. This means that either µA (x) or µB (x) is equal to 0. Suppose µA (x) = 0.
From definition 1.3 and the fact that X = A ∪ B, it follows that µA0 = 1 − µA (x) = 1 and we have µB (x) = 1. From
this, we can see that A and B are both open and closed.

The following theorem says that connectedness is preserve by an F-continuous function.

Theorem 4.1. Let f be an F-continuous map from a connected fts X to a fts Y . Then the image of X under f
is connected.

Proof. Let X be a connected fts and Y be a fts. Let f : X → Y be an F-continuous function. Note that the image
f [X] of X under f is a subset of Y . We want to show that f [X] is connected. Assume the contrary, that is, suppose
that f [X] is disconnected. By definition 4.1, there exist non-empty open fuzzy sets A and B in Tf [X] such that
A ∪ B = f [X] and A ∩ B = ∅, where Tf [X] is the subspace topology on f [X]. Notice that since A, B ∈ Tf [X] , then
by definition 2.9, we have A = AY ∩ f [X] and B = BY ∩ f [X] for some open fuzzy sets AY , BY ∈ Y . In addition,
A and B are also open in Y . Now, f −1 [A] and f −1 [B] are open in X since f is an F-continuous map. Moreover,
f −1 [A] and f −1 [B] are non-empty since A, B 6= ∅ and f −1 [A] ∩ f −1 [B] = ∅ since A and B are complements to each
other by the remark after definition 4.1. Using definitions 1.3 and 1.5, we have

f −1 [A] ∪ f −1 [B] = max{µf −1 [A] (x), µf −1 [B] (x)}, x∈X

= max{µA (f (x)), µB (f (x))}.

According to definition 1.3,

f [X] = A ∪ B ⇔ µf [X] (f (x)) = max{µA (f (x)), µB (f (x))}

and definition 1.2 says that

µf [X] (f (x)) = 1, ∀f (x) ∈ f [X].

Hence,
max{µA (f (x)), µB (f (x))} = 1

since A ∪ B = f [X]. Thus, f −1 [A] ∪ f −1 [B] = X since µX (x) = 1 for all x ∈ X. This means that X is disconnected,
a contradiction to the assumption that X is connected. Therefore, f [X] is connected.

14
4.2 Compactness
We first state the definition of an open cover of a fuzzy set to discuss compactness of a fuzzy topological space.

Definition 4.2. A family A = {Ai | i ∈ I} of fuzzy sets indexed by some indexing set I is a cover of a fuzzy set B
S
if and only if B ⊂ Ai ∈A Ai . It is an open cover if each member of A is an open fuzzy set. A subcover of A is a
subfamily of A which is also a cover.

Definition 4.3. A fts (X, T ) is compact if and only if each open cover has a finite subcover.

Theorem 4.2. A fts is compact if and only if each family of closed fuzzy sets which has the finite intersection
property has a nonempty intersection.

Proof. Let (X, T ) be a fts. Let A be a family of open fuzzy set Ai in X such that A is a covering of X, that is,
S S
X ⊂ Ai ∈A . But since Ai ⊂ X for each i, we have Ai ∈A = X. Taking the complement and by using De Morgan’s
law, we get !0
[
Ai = X0
Ai ∈A

which means that

\ 0
Ai = ∅
Ai ∈A

where the Ai ’s are closed fuzzy sets since each Ai is open. Suppose that X is compact. Since A is a covering of X
Sn
and X is compact, there exists a finite subcollection {A1 , A2 , . . . , An } of A such that
i=1 Ai = X. We again take
the complement, that is, !0
n
[
Ai = X0
i=1

and hence,
n
\ 0
Ai = ∅
i=1

where the Ai ’s are closed for i = 1, 2, . . . , n. Now, we take the contraposition of the above arguments. Hence, if
every finite collection of closed sets has the finite intersection property, then there is no finite subcollection of A that
0
covers X. Thus, A does not cover X and it follows that the intersection of all closed sets Ai is nonempty, that is
\ 0
Ai 6= ∅.
Ai ∈A

Similar to Theorem 4.1, the following result indicates that compactness is preserve under an F-continuous
function.

15
 Theorem 4.3. Let f be a F-continuous function carrying the compact fts X onto the fts Y . Then the image of
X under f is compact.

Proof. Let f : X → Y be an onto F-continuous function, where X is a compact fts and Y a fts. Given that f is an
onto F-continuous function, then the image of X under f is just Y , that is, f [X] = Y . Let A be an open covering of
S S
Y by open fuzzy sets Ai in Y . Then Y ⊂ Ai ∈A Ai . But each of the Ai ’s is in Y and hence Ai ∈A Ai = Y . Now,
for x ∈ X and f (x) ∈ Y and using definitions 1.2, 1.3 and 1.4, and 1.5, we have the following,

1 = µY f (x)
= µSA Ai f (x)
i ∈A

= sup {µAi f (x)}

Ai ∈A

= sup {µf −1 [Ai ] (x)}

Ai ∈A

= µSA f −1 [Ai ] f (x).

i ∈A

Note that f −1 [Ai ] is open in X since f is F-continuous and Ai is open in Y . Also, we know that
" #
[ [
−1 −1
f [Ai ] = f Ai
Ai ∈A Ai ∈A

which is also open since X is a fts. Let B a family of open fuzzy sets of the form f −1 [Ai ] in X such that B is a
covering of X. Then
[
f −1 [Ai ] = X
f −1 [Ai ]∈B

since each f −1 [Ai ] is a subset of X and B covers X. Since X is compact, there exists a finite subcollection Bn of B
that still covers X, that is
[
f −1 [Ai ] = X.
f −1 [Ai ]∈Bn

Recall that from theorem 1.1, f [f −1 [Ai ]] ⊂ Ai for any fuzzy set Ai in Y . Since f is onto, then f [f −1 [Ai ]] = Ai , that
is, every fuzzy set in Y is an image of an element in Bn . Now, since Bn is finite and is a covering of X, then each
element of Bn is mapped to a finite number of open fuzzy sets Ai in Y . Thus, there exists a finite subcollection of
A that covers Y , that is,
µSni=1 Ai f (x) = sup {µAi (f (x))} = 1
Ai ∈A

if and only if
n
[
Ai = Y.
i=1

Therefore, Y is compact.

16
5 Countability Axioms and Separation Axioms
5.1 Countability Axioms
In this section, we define the other important topological properties similar to that of general topology, that is, the
first and second countability axiom and Lindelof.

Definition 5.1. A fts (X, T ) is said to be 2nd countable or CII if there exists a countable base B for T .

Definition 5.2. A fts (X, T ) is Lindelof if and only if every open cover of X has a countable subcover.

Theorem 5.1. If a fts (X, T ) is CII , it is also Lindelof.

Proof. We want to show that every open cover of X has a countable subcover. Let A = {Ai }i∈I be an open cover
∞
of X, that is, i∈I Ai = X. Since (X, T ) is CII then it has a countable base B = {Bn }n=1 . By the definition of a
S

base, each Ai ∈ A can be expressed as a union of members of B. Thus we can write,

j
[
Ai = Bk
k=1

where j can be the infinity. Now, define Bo = {Bk }, 1 ≤ k ≤ j. Then by construction, Bo form an open cover of X.
Bo is also countable since it is a subcollection of B. Also each member of Bo is contained Ai . Thus, these A0i s will
form a countable subcover of A . Therefore, (X, T ) is Lindelof.

Definition 5.3. Let (X, T ) be a fts and p a fuzzy point. A subfamily Bp of T is called a local base of p if and
only if p ∈ B for every member B of Bp , and for every member A of T such that p ∈ A there exists a member B of
Bp such that p ∈ B ⊂ A.

Definition 5.4. A fts (X, T ) is said to be 1st countable or CI if and only if every fuzzy point in X has a countable
local base.

Theorem 5.2. If a fts (X, T ) is CII then it is CI .

Proof. Our goal is to show that (X, T ) is CI , that is, every fuzzy point in X has a countable local base. Let p be
an arbitrary fuzzy point in X. Since (X, T ) is CII then there exists a countable base B for T . Now, define Bp , a
subfamily of B as
Bp = {B : B ∈ B, p ∈ B}.

Then Bp is countable because Bp ⊂ B.

We claim that Bp is a local base of p. Let A ∈ T be such that p ∈ A. By theorem 2.something , there
exists a B ∈ B such that p ∈ B ⊂ A. But notice that, B ∈ Bp . Thus the claim is true. Therefore (X, T ) is CII .

17
 Theorem 5.3. Let f be an F-continuous function from a CI fts (X, T ) onto a fts (Y, U ). If f is also F-open,
then (Y, U ) is CI .

Proof. Our aim is to show that every fuzzy point in Y has a countable local base. Let q be a fuzzy point in Y . Then,
by the definition of a fuzzy point, f −1 [q] is a fuzzy set not necessarily a fuzzy point. Suppose q has support y0 with
value y then f −1 [q] is a fuzzy set with membership function defined by,

y, for each x ∈ f −1 [y ]
0
µf −1 [q] (x) =
0 otherwise.

If we define a fuzzy point p in X with the membership function,


y, for x = x
0
µp (x) =
0 otherwise,

where x0 ∈ f −1 [y0 ]. Then p ∈ f −1 [q] and f [p] = q because we have µp (x) = µf −1 [q] (x). Also, since (X, T ) is CI
∞
then p has a countable local base, say Bp = {An }n=1 .

We claim that Bq = {f [An ] : An ∈ Bp } forms a countable local base of q. First, note that f [An ] ∈ U for all An ∈
Bp because f is F-open. Second, if we let B ∈ U such that q ∈ B then f −1 [B] ∈ T because f is F-continuous and
p ∈ f −1 [B]. Hence, there exists An ∈ Bp such that p ∈ An ⊂ f −1 [B]. Therefore, q = f [p] ∈ f [An ] ⊂ f [f −1 [B]] ⊂ B
and the claim is true.

5.2 Separation Axioms

We delay the discussion of separation axioms until section 7.

18
6 Product Topology
In this section, we will construct the product topology with the use of the definitions of bases and subbases
for the product space. As we can see later, some of the fuzzy topological properties that we have discussed in the
previous sections can not be extended for an uncountable products using Chang’s [2] definitions. Observe also the
similarity of construction of the product topology for the product of fuzzy topological spaces and topological spaces.
The following construction is from Wong [14] combined with that of Munkres [9].

Let {Xα } be a family of fuzzy topological spaces with their respective fuzzy topology Tα where α ∈ I for some
Q
indexing set I. Let X = α∈I Xα be the usual product space and let πα be the function
Y
πα : Xα → Xα
α∈I

given by
πα ((xα )α∈I ) = xα .

be the projection mapping from the product space X onto Xα .[9] Now, let A ∈ Tα where A is a fuzzy set in the
codomain Xα . According to definition 1.5, πα−1 [A] is a fuzzy set in X. Let S be collection of all fuzzy sets of the
form πα−1 [A], that is
S = {πα−1 [A] : A ∈ Tα }.

From here, we will use S to generate the product fuzzy topology T for X in a similar way on how the product
topology was generated in general topology. Note that S is a subbase for X. Furthermore, if we take the finite
intersection of the elements of S , we can generate a base for X and taking the union of the elements of B will give
us the elements of the fuzzy topology T for X. In other words, by definitions 2.7 and 2.8 with S , we let T to be
the family of all unions of finite intersections of the elements of S .[14]

From the above discussion, we can now define what product fuzzy topology and product topological space

Definition 6.1. Given a family of fts {(Xα , Tα )}, α ∈ I, the fuzzy topology defined above is called the product
fuzzy topology for X = α∈I Xα and (X, T ) is called the product fuzzy topological space.
Q

Now, without giving the proof, there is a need to state the following theorems regarding the compactness of
product spaces that will lead to the deficiency of Chang’s [2] definition of compactness. For the proof, see Wong [16].

Theorem 6.1. Let {(Xα , Tα )}, α = 1, 2, . . . , n be a finite family of compact fts’s. Then the product fts (X, T ) is
also compact.

Theorem 6.2. There exists a countable family of compact fts’s such that their product fts is not compact.

The previous theorem tells that an arbitrary product of compact spaces is not necessarily compact by using
the definition of fuzzy topology that we have considered here. At this point, the results that we had obtained is
analogous to that of general topology.

19
7 Deficiencies and Resolution
From what we have discussed in sections 2 to 7, we can see that the construction of ideas, structure of the proofs
and the results were similar to that of general topology when we consider the fuzzy topology induced by fuzzy sets.
In this section, we determine the insufficiency of Chang’s [2] definition of fuzzy topology in extending some ideas in
general topology using fuzzy sets.

First, Chang did not emphasize what he meant by openness of a fuzzy set. This uncertainty is crucial in topology
since the notion of openness of a set is almost everywhere needed. In line with this, Goguen [5] introduced L-set which
was used to define L-Topological Spaces. This lead to a more precise definition of an open fuzzy set and hence can
be used to prove that the infinite product of compact fuzzy topological spaces is compact which is exactly the Fuzzy
Tychonoff Theorem.[5] . Furthermore, all results from Chang’s definition still holds when L-Topological Spaces were
considered.[11] Meanwhile, it should be noted that Gregori and Vidal [7] resolved the fuzziness in Chang’s definition
of open fuzzy set by defining a gradation of openness. Now, the idea of compactness of fuzzy topological spaces
by Chang was redefined by Lowen [8] since he found hole on this definition of compactness and then introduce a
new definition of compactness which generalizes the compactness in general topology but it can only prove the finite
Tychonoff theorem.[4] Later on, Lowen gave a new definition of a fuzzy topology so that it can prove the infinite
Tychonoff theorem but this is a great departure from the goal of generalizing general topology. However, Gantner
and Steinlage [4] defined the degrees of compactness denoted by α-compactness which resulted to a more complicated
extension. We should stop the discussion at the moment since we only want to have at least a little resolution to the
problem.

One of the important topological spaces is the Hausdorff Spaces which is not discussed in this paper. The
reason for this is that Chang [2] defined a neighborhood a fuzzy set rather than a point in a fuzzy set. Hence,
Wong [15] defined what a fuzzy point is. Again, we stop at this to avoid such lengthy discussion as above. To see
the modified definitions so that the Hausdorff notions can be thoroughly elaborated, you may see Cutler and Reilly [3].

Without discussing any further each and every topological concept that can and can not be generalized using
Chang’s definition of fuzzy topology and for future researches, try to see Shostak [11] which summarized the first 20
years of fuzzy topology after it’s first definition. His work includes the three types of fuzzy topology given by Chang
[2], Goguen [5] and Lowen [8] with their corresponding consequences and results.

20
8 Conclusion
To conclude what we have discussed in the previous section, we recall what are the objectives of this paper. First,
to introduce fuzzy sets and its set operations that are defined by the membership function associated with the fuzzy
set. Next, to introduce the notion of fuzzy topology based on Chang’s definition and to acquire similar results from
that of general topology. Lastly, to compare and contrast the differences between fuzzy topology and general topology.

As we have seen in section 1, fuzzy sets are generalized the ordinary set. Moreover, the membership function
that accompanies the fuzzy set is a generalization of the characteristic function which takes only the values 0 and
1.[19] . Note that the characteristic function determines whether an element belongs to a set or not. On the other
hand, the membership function also tells whether the element belongs to a set as well as it describes the grade or
the degree of membership of an element, that is, to what extent does it belong to the set.

Using Chang’s definition of fuzzy topology, several fuzzy topological properties have similar results to the usual
topological properties. Although the definition of fuzzy topology we have considered showed its insufficiency in gener-
alizing general topology, as mentioned in section 7, there are subsequent publications to cope up with this deficiencies.

The significance of this paper is to establish the preliminaries in generalizing the basic ideas and results from
general topology using fuzzy sets.

21
References
[1] Azad, K. K. Fuzzy Hausdorff Spaces and Fuzzy Spaces Mappings J. Math. Anal. Appl. 82, pp. 297-305. (1981)

[2] Chang, C. L. Fuzzy Topological Spaces. J. Math. Anal. Appl. 24, pp. 182-190. (1968)

[3] Cutler, D. R. and Reilly, I. L. A comparison of some Hausdorff notions in Fuzzy Topological Spaces. Computers
Math. Applic. Vol. 19, No. 11, pp. 97-104. (1990)

[4] Gantner, T. E. and Steinlage, R. C. Compactness in Fuzzy Topological Spaces. J. Math. Anal. Appl. 62, pp.
547-562. (1978)

[5] Goguen, J. A. The Fuzzy Tychonoff Theorem. J. Math. Anal. Appl. 43, pp. 734-742. (1973)

[6] Kumari Geetha, S. Studies on Fuzzy Topological Semigroups and Related Areas. School of Mathematical Sciences,
Cochin University of Science and Technology, Cochin - 682 022, India. (1992)

[7] Gregori, V. and Vidal, A. Fuzziness in Chang’s Fuzzy Topological Spaces. Rend. Istit. Mat. Univ. Trieste Suppl.
Vol. XXX, pp. 111-121. (1999)

[8] Lowen, R. Fuzzy Topological Spaces and Fuzzy Compactness. J. Math. Anal. Appl. 56, pp. 621-633. (1976)

[9] Munkres, J. R. Topology: A First Course. Prentice-Hall, Inc. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey (1975)

[10] Raja Sethupathy, K. S. and Lakshmivarahan, S. Connectedness in Fuzzy Topology. Kybernetika - Volume 13,
Number 3. pp. 190-193. (1977)

[11] Shostak, A. P. Two decades of fuzzy topology: basic ideas, notions and results. Uspekhi Mat. Nauk 44:6, pp.
99-147. (1989)

[12] Srivastava, R., Lal, S. N. and Srivastava, A. K. On Fuzzy T1 -Topological Spaces. J. Math. Anal. Appl. 136, pp.
124-130. (1988)

[13] Srivastava, R., Lal, S. N. and Srivastava, A. K. Fuzzy Hausdorff Topological Spaces. J. Math. Anal. Appl. 81,
pp. 497-506. (1981)

[14] Wong, C. K. Fuzzy Topology. Fuzzy Sets and Their Applications to Cognitive and Decision Processes. Academic
Press, Inc. 1300 Boylston Street, Chestnut Hill, MA, 02167. pp. 171-190. (1975)

[15] Wong, C. K. Fuzzy Points and Local Properties of Fuzzy Topology. J. Math. Anal. Appl. 46, pp. 316-328. (1974)

[16] Wong, C. K. Fuzzy Topology Product and Quotient Theorems. J. Math. Anal. Appl. 45, pp. 512-521. (1974)

[17] Zadeh, L. A. Fuzzy Sets. Information and Control 8, pp. 338-353. (1965)

[18] Zadeh, L. A. A Fuzzy-Set-Theoretic Interpretation of Linguistic Hedges. ERL Memorandum M335, University
of California, Berkeley. (1972)

[19] Zimmermann, H. J. Fuzzy Set Theory - and Its Applications, Second Revised Edition. Kluwer Academic Pub-
lishers. Norwell, Massachusetts 02061 USA. pp. 92. (1991)

22