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Zorn's Lemma

Zorn's Lemma is a set theoretic result which is equivalent to the Axiom of Choice.

Let $A$ be a partially ordered set.

We say that $A$ is inductively ordered if every totally ordered subset $T$ of $A$ has an upper bound, i.e., an element $a \in A$ such that for all $x\in T$, $x \le a$. We say that $A$ is strictly inductively ordered if every totally ordered subset $T$ of $A$ has a least upper bound, i.e., an upper bound $a$ so that if $b$ is an upper bound of $T$, then $a \le b$.

An element $m \in A$ is maximal if the relation $a \ge m$ implies $a=m$. (Note that a set may have several maximal... [more]