nLab inhabited set

Contents

Context

Type theory

natural deduction metalanguage, practical foundations

  1. type formation rule
  2. term introduction rule
  3. term elimination rule
  4. computation rule

type theory (dependent, intensional, observational type theory, homotopy type theory)

syntax object language

computational trinitarianism =
propositions as types +programs as proofs +relation type theory/category theory

logicset theory (internal logic of)category theorytype theory
propositionsetobjecttype
predicatefamily of setsdisplay morphismdependent type
proofelementgeneralized elementterm/program
cut rulecomposition of classifying morphisms / pullback of display mapssubstitution
introduction rule for implicationcounit for hom-tensor adjunctionlambda
elimination rule for implicationunit for hom-tensor adjunctionapplication
cut elimination for implicationone of the zigzag identities for hom-tensor adjunctionbeta reduction
identity elimination for implicationthe other zigzag identity for hom-tensor adjunctioneta conversion
truesingletonterminal object/(-2)-truncated objecth-level 0-type/unit type
falseempty setinitial objectempty type
proposition, truth valuesubsingletonsubterminal object/(-1)-truncated objecth-proposition, mere proposition
logical conjunctioncartesian productproductproduct type
disjunctiondisjoint union (support of)coproduct ((-1)-truncation of)sum type (bracket type of)
implicationfunction set (into subsingleton)internal hom (into subterminal object)function type (into h-proposition)
negationfunction set into empty setinternal hom into initial objectfunction type into empty type
universal quantificationindexed cartesian product (of family of subsingletons)dependent product (of family of subterminal objects)dependent product type (of family of h-propositions)
existential quantificationindexed disjoint union (support of)dependent sum ((-1)-truncation of)dependent sum type (bracket type of)
logical equivalencebijection setobject of isomorphismsequivalence type
support setsupport object/(-1)-truncationpropositional truncation/bracket type
n-image of morphism into terminal object/n-truncationn-truncation modality
equalitydiagonal function/diagonal subset/diagonal relationpath space objectidentity type/path type
completely presented setsetdiscrete object/0-truncated objecth-level 2-type/set/h-set
setset with equivalence relationinternal 0-groupoidBishop set/setoid with its pseudo-equivalence relation an actual equivalence relation
equivalence class/quotient setquotientquotient type
inductioncolimitinductive type, W-type, M-type
higher inductionhigher colimithigher inductive type
-0-truncated higher colimitquotient inductive type
coinductionlimitcoinductive type
presettype without identity types
set of truth valuessubobject classifiertype of propositions
domain of discourseuniverseobject classifiertype universe
modalityclosure operator, (idempotent) monadmodal type theory, monad (in computer science)
linear logic(symmetric, closed) monoidal categorylinear type theory/quantum computation
proof netstring diagramquantum circuit
(absence of) contraction rule(absence of) diagonalno-cloning theorem
synthetic mathematicsdomain specific embedded programming language

homotopy levels

semantics

Contents

Idea

A set or type is inhabited if it contains an element or term.

Definition

In set theory

In set theory, an inhabited set is a set that contains an element, i.e. a set XX such that x,xX\exists x, x\in X is true.

At least assuming classical logic, this is the same thing as a set that is not empty. Usually inhabited sets are simply called ‘non-empty’, but the positive word ‘inhabited’ reminds us that inhabitation is the simpler notion, which emptiness is defined as the negation of.

The term ‘inhabited’ comes from constructive mathematics. In constructive mathematics (such as the internal logic of some topos or generally in type theory), a set/type that is not empty is not already necessarily inhabited. This is because double negation is nontrivial in intuitionistic logic. All the same, many constructive mathematicians use the old word ‘non-empty’ with the understanding that it really means inhabited, and write AA\neq \emptyset to mean that AA is inhabited. The latter we can interpret literally if we regard \neq as a reference to an inequality relation other than the denial inequality, such as the inequality defined for subsets by ABx((xAxB)(xBxA))A \neq B \iff \exists x ((x\in A \wedge x\notin B)\vee(x\in B\wedge x\notin A)). If we prefer to reserve \neq for the denial inequality, then we can write #\# for this stronger inequality of sets (although it is not an apartness relation), and hence A#A\#\emptyset to mean that AA is inhabited.

In type theory

In type theory there are two possible notions of inhabited type: a type XX whose propositional truncation X\Vert X \Vert has an element (or term), or a type XX that itself has an element (or term). The former is what corresponds to the above notion of inhabitedness in set theory, since X\Vert X \Vert is the propositions as types interpretation of x:X\exists x:X. The latter is more like the notion of a pointed set.

The assertion X,(XX)\forall X, (\Vert X \Vert \to X) is a mildly nonconstructive logical principle called the propositional axiom of choice. It follows from excluded middle, but in the internal logics of some toposes, it can fail, so that these two notions of “inhabited type” really are different.

Inhabited objects

An inhabited set is the special case of an internally inhabited object in the topos Set. The two notions of inhabited type correspond to internally and externally inhabited objects (which are, respectively, those objects XX where X1X\to 1 is an epimorphism, and those which admit a global element 1X1\to X).

There is a distinction between ‘inhabited’ and ‘occupied?’ spaces in Abstract Stone Duality (which probably corresponds to something about locales, should explain that here).

Last revised on February 16, 2024 at 17:12:53. See the history of this page for a list of all contributions to it.