English

Proper noun

Burali-Forti paradox

1. (set theory) The following paradox: Let L be the set of all ordinal numbers. This set is well-ordered, so it has an ordinal number γ. Since L is the set of all ordinal numbers, L contains γ. But γ is equal to the well-ordered set of all ordinal numbers β smaller than γ. Thus, L is order isomorphic to one of its proper subsets, a contradiction.

Related terms

• Russell's paradox