Functional Analysis - Foundations of Mathematics Considerations

Foundations of Mathematics Considerations

Most spaces considered in functional analysis have infinite dimension. To show the existence of a vector space basis for such spaces may require Zorn's lemma. However, a somewhat different concept, Schauder basis, is usually more relevant in functional analysis. Many very important theorems require the Hahn–Banach theorem, usually proved using axiom of choice, although the strictly weaker Boolean prime ideal theorem suffices. The Baire category theorem, needed to prove many important theorems, also requires a form of axiom of choice.

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