Simple Universal Algebras
In universal algebra, an abstract algebra A is called "simple" if and only if it has no nontrivial congruence relations, or equivalently, if every homomorphism with domain A is either injective or constant.
As congruences on rings are characterized by their ideals, this notion is a straightforward generalization of the notion from ring theory: a ring is simple in the sense that it has no nontrivial ideals if and only if it is simple in the sense of universal algebra.
Read more about this topic: Simple Algebra
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