Transfinite Induction

Pub Mar 06, 2026 Up Jun 10, 2026

Proposition 1. Transfinite Induction. Let $C$ be a class of ordinals. Suppose:

  1. \[0 \in C.\]
  2. \[\forall \alpha \in C : \alpha + 1 \in C.\]
  3. For every limit ordinal $\alpha$,

    \[\alpha \subseteq C \enspace\rimp\enspace \alpha \in C.\]

Then $C = \Ord$.


References

[1]
Wikipedia contributors. Transfinite induction. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
[2]
Thomas Jech. Set Theory. 3rd Millennium ed, rev. and expanded. Springer, 2002. p. 21.