What is the real category of sets?

Abstract

Category theory provides a powerful tool to organize mathematics. A sample of this descriptive power is given by the categorical analysis of the practice of "classes as shorthands" in ZF set theory. In this case category theory provides a natural way to describe the relation between mathematics and metamathematics: if metamathematics can be described by using categories (in particular syntactic categories), then the mathematical level is represented by internal categories. Through this two-level interpretation we can clarify the relation between classes and sets in ZF and, in particular, we can present two equivalent categorical notions of definable set. Some common sayings about set theory will be interpreted in the light of this representation, emphasizing the distinction between naive and rigorous sentences about sets and classes.