4 Constructions With Sets

    This chapter develops some material relating to constructions with sets with an eye towards its categorical and higher-categorical counterparts to be introduced later in this work. Of particular interest are perhaps the following:

    1. 1.

      Explicit descriptions of the major types of co/limits in $\mathsf{Sets}$, including in particular explicit descriptions of pushouts and coequalisers (see Definition 4.2.4.1.1, Remark 4.2.4.1.3, Definition 4.2.5.1.1, and Remark 4.2.5.1.3).

  • 2.

    A discussion of powersets as decategorifications of categories of presheaves, including in particular results such as:

    1. (a)

      A discussion of the internal Hom of a powerset (Section 4.4.7).

    2. (b)

      A 0-categorical version of the Yoneda lemma (Unresolved reference, Unresolved reference), which we term the Yoneda lemma for sets (Proposition 4.5.5.1.1).

    3. (c)

      A characterisation of powersets as free cocompletions (Section 4.4.5), mimicking the corresponding statement for categories of presheaves (Unresolved reference).

    4. (d)

      A characterisation of powersets as free completions (Section 4.4.6), mimicking the corresponding statement for categories of copresheaves (Unresolved reference).

    5. (e)

      A $\webleft (-1\webright )$-categorical version of un/straightening (Item 2 of Proposition 4.5.1.1.4 and Remark 4.5.1.1.5).

    6. (f)

      A 0-categorical form of Isbell duality internal to powersets (Section 4.4.8).

  • 3.

    A lengthy discussion of the adjoint triple

    \[ f_{!}\dashv f^{-1}\dashv f_{*}\colon \mathcal{P}\webleft (A\webright )\overset {\rightleftarrows }{\to }\mathcal{P}\webleft (B\webright ) \]

    of functors (i.e. morphisms of posets) between $\mathcal{P}\webleft (A\webright )$ and $\mathcal{P}\webleft (B\webright )$ induced by a map of sets $f\colon A\to B$, including in particular:

    1. (a)

      How $f^{-1}$ can be described as a precomposition while $f_{!}$ and $f_{*}$ can be described as Kan extensions (Remark 4.6.1.1.4, Remark 4.6.2.1.2, and Remark 4.6.3.1.4).

    2. (b)

      An extensive list of the properties of $f_{!}$, $f^{-1}$, and $f_{*}$ (Proposition 4.6.1.1.5, Proposition 4.6.1.1.6, Proposition 4.6.2.1.3, Proposition 4.6.2.1.4, Proposition 4.6.3.1.7, and Proposition 4.6.3.1.8).

    3. (c)

      How the functors $f_{!}$, $f^{-1}$, $f_{*}$, along with the functors

      \begin{align*} -_{1}\cap -_{2} & \colon \mathcal{P}\webleft (X\webright )\times \mathcal{P}\webleft (X\webright ) \to \mathcal{P}\webleft (X\webright ),\\ \webleft [-_{1},-_{2}\webright ]_{X} & \colon \mathcal{P}\webleft (X\webright )^{\mathsf{op}}\times \mathcal{P}\webleft (X\webright ) \to \mathcal{P}\webleft (X\webright ) \end{align*}

      may be viewed as a six-functor formalism with the empty set $\text{Ø}$ as the dualising object (Section 4.6.4).


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