A construction of set theory (2009.08867v2)

Abstract: We begin with a context more general than set theory. The basic ingredients are essentially the object and functor primitives of category theory, and the logic is weak, requiring neither the Law of Excluded Middle nor quantification. Inside this we find "relaxed" set theory, which is much easier to use with full precision than traditional axiomatic theories. There is also an implementation of the Zermillo-Fraenkel-Choice axioms that is maximal in the sense that any other implementation uniquely embeds in it.