Intuition behind $R$ is a field $\iff$ only ideals are $R$ and $0$

group-theoryidealsintuitionnormal-subgroupsring-theory

There are two well-known facts in algebra:

  • Every subgroup of an abelian subgroup is a normal subgroup.
  • Given a commutative ring $R$, one has that $R$ is a field if and only if its only ideals are $R$ and $0$.

Many textbooks often describe an ideal of a ring as the analog to a normal subgroup of a group. It is also reasonable to regard commutative rings as an analog to abelian groups. Yet, intuitively these two facts above are complete opposite of each other. What's the intuition behind such a drastic difference?

Any help is appreciated.

Best Answer

Here are two facts that justify saying that "normal subgroups are to groups" as "ideals are to rings", but that's just about all we can say.

(1) Normal subgroups are precisely the kernels of group morphisms.

(1') Ideals are precisely the kernels of ring morphisms.

(2) Normal subgroups are the only subsets on which the natural group structure on the cosets is well-defined.

(2') Ideals are the only subsets on which the naturall ring structure on the cosets is well-defined.

In short, both are the only objects that allow us to look at quotient structures.