A cardinal $\kappa$ is *worldly* if $V_\kappa$ is a model of
$\text{ZF}$. It follows that $\kappa$ is a
[[Beth#Strong limit cardinal|strong limit]],
a
<a href="Beth_fixed_point" class="mw-redirect" title="Beth fixed point">beth fixed point</a>
and a fixed point of the enumeration of these, and more.
- Every
[inaccessible](Inaccessible.md "Inaccessible")
cardinal is worldly.
- Nevertheless, the least worldly cardinal is
<a href="Singular" class="mw-redirect" title="Singular">singular</a>
and hence not
[inaccessible](Inaccessible.md "Inaccessible").
- The least worldly cardinal has
<a href="Cofinality" class="mw-redirect" title="Cofinality">cofinality</a>
$\omega$.
- Indeed, the next worldly cardinal above any ordinal, if any exist,
has
<a href="Cofinality" class="mw-redirect" title="Cofinality">cofinality</a>
$\omega$.
- Any worldly cardinal $\kappa$ of uncountable cofinality is a limit
of $\kappa$ many worldly cardinals.
## Degrees of worldliness
A cardinal $\kappa$ is *$1$-worldly* if it is worldly and a limit of
worldly cardinals. More generally, $\kappa$ is *$\alpha$-worldly* if
it is worldly and for every $\beta\lt\alpha$, the $\beta$-worldly
cardinals are unbounded in $\kappa$. The cardinal $\kappa$ is
*hyper-worldly* if it is $\kappa$-worldly. One may proceed to define
notions of $\alpha$-hyper-worldly and
$\alpha$-hyper${}^\beta$-worldly in analogy with the
[](Inaccessible.md#hyper-inaccessible).
Every
[inaccessible](Inaccessible.md "Inaccessible")
cardinal $\kappa$ is hyper${}^\kappa$-worldly, and a limit of such
kinds of cardinals.
The consistency strength of a $1$-worldly cardinal is stronger than that
of a worldly cardinal, the consistency strength of a $2$-worldly
cardinal is stronger than that of a $1$-worldly cardinal, etc.
The worldly cardinal terminology was introduced in lectures of J. D.
Hamkins at the CUNY Graduate Center and at NYU.
## Replacement Characterization
As long as $\kappa$ is an uncountable cardinal, $V_\kappa$ already
satisfies $\text{ZF}^-$ ($\text{ZF}$ without the axiom schema of
replacement). So, $\kappa$ is worldly if and only if $\kappa$ is
uncountable and $V_\kappa$ satisfies the axiom schema of replacement.
More analytically, $\kappa$ is worldly if and only if $\kappa$ is
uncountable and for any function $f:A\rightarrow V_\kappa$ definable
from parameters in $V_\kappa$ for some $A\in V_\kappa$, $f"A\in
V_\kappa$ also.