TheoremBase

Elements are sets directly by the definition of set; existence comes from the empty-set and pairing axioms, and uniqueness in both cases from extensionality.

Proof

Clause elements. Let XX be an element of a class YY, that is, X∈YX\in Y. Then there is a class of which XX is an element, so XX is a set by Classes, Membership, Sets and Proper Classes §set.

Clause empty. By Axiom of the Empty Set there is a set ee such that no set uu satisfies u∈eu\in e. In fact ee has no element at all: if a class ww satisfied w∈ew\in e, then ww would be a set by Classes, Membership, Sets and Proper Classes §set, contrary to the choice of ee. Now let CC be any class with no element. For every set zz, both z∈Cz\in C and z∈ez\in e are false, so z∈Cz\in C holds if and only if z∈ez\in e holds; by Axiom of Extensionality for Classes, C=eC=e. Thus every class with no element equals ee; in particular every set with no element equals ee, so ee is the only set with no element.

Clause pair. Let xx and yy be sets. By Axiom of Pairing there is a set zz such that, for every set uu, u∈zu\in z if and only if u=xu=x or u=yu=y. If z′z' is a set with the same property, then for every set uu we have u∈zu\in z if and only if (u=xu=x or u=yu=y) if and only if u∈z′u\in z', so z=z′z=z' by Axiom of Extensionality for Classes. Hence zz is unique.

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