Internal Set Theory

Internal Set Theory

Internal set theory (IST) is a mathematical theory of sets developed by Edward Nelson that provides an axiomatic basis for a portion of the non-standard analysis introduced by Abraham Robinson. Instead of adding new elements to the real numbers, the axioms introduce a new term, "standard", which can be used to make discriminations not possible under the conventional axioms for sets. Thus, IST is an enrichment of ZFC: all axioms of ZFC are satisfied for all classical predicates, while the new unary predicate "standard" satisfies three additional axioms I, S, and T. In particular, suitable non-standard elements within the set of real numbers can be shown to have properties that correspond to the properties of infinitesimal and unlimited elements.

Nelson's formulation is made more accessible for the lay-mathematician by leaving out many of the complexities of meta-mathematical logic that were initially required to justify rigorously the consistency of infinitesimal elements.