Solomon Feferman Categorical Foundations and Foundations of Category Theory*

This paper is divided'into two parts. Part I deals briefly with the thesis that category theory (or something like it) should provide the proper foundations of mathematics, in preference to current foundational schemes. An opposite view is argued here on the grounds that the notions of operation and collection are prior to all structural notions. However, no position is taken as to whether such are to be conceived extensionally or intensionally. Part II describes work by the author on a new non-extensional type-free theory t of operations and classifications. 1 Its interest in the present connection is that much of 'naive' or 'unrestricted' category theory can be given a direct account within t. This work illustrates requirements and possibilities for a foundation of unrestricted category theory.