Choice Function Exists for Well-Orderable Union of Sets
Contents |
Theorem
Let $\mathbb S$ be a set of sets such that:
- $\forall S \in \mathbb S: S \ne \varnothing$
that is, none of the sets in $\mathbb S$ may be empty.
Let the union $\bigcup \mathbb S$ be well-orderable.
Then there exists a choice function $f: \mathbb S \to \bigcup \mathbb S$ defined as:
- $\forall S \in \mathbb S: \exists x \in S: f \left({S}\right) = x$
Thus, if every member of $\mathbb S$ is a well-ordered, then we can create a choice function $f$ defined as:
- $\forall S \in \mathbb S: f \left({S}\right) = \inf \left({S}\right)$
True, we may be making infinitely many choices, but we have a rule for doing so.
Corollary
The Well-Ordering Theorem, which states that every set is well-orderable, implies the truth of the Axiom of Choice.
Proof
Suppose $T = \bigcup \mathbb S$ is well-orderable.
Then we can create a well-ordering $\preceq$ on $T$ so as to make $\left({T, \preceq}\right)$ a well-ordered set.
From the definition of well-ordered set, every subset of $T$ is itself well-ordered.
From Subset of Union: General Result we have that $\forall S \in \mathbb S: S \subseteq T$.
So every $S \in \mathbb S$ is well-ordered and Choice Function Exists for Set of Well-Ordered Sets applies.
$\blacksquare$
Proof of Corollary
Let $\mathbb S$ be any set of sets.
Assume the truth of the Well-Ordering Theorem.
That is, that every set is well-orderable.
Then, in particular, $\bigcup \mathbb S$ is well-orderable.
The result follows directly from the main theorem.
$\blacksquare$