[Math] Complement of universal set

elementary-set-theory

What is the complement of the universal set ?

(It can't be the empty set as it's a subset of every set)

Best Answer

Assuming that in your set theory it is consistent to talk about the universal set and it is $\{x:x=x\}$, then its complement is $$ \{x:x\ne x\} $$ so no set can belong to it. In other words, the complement of the universal set is the empty set.

It's true that $\emptyset$ is a subset of any set, but this has no consequence on the fact above.