Abstract

The notions of finite and infinite second-order characterizability of cardinal and ordinal numbers are developed. Several known results for the case of finite characterizability are extended to infinite characterizability, and investigations of the second-order theory of ordinals lead to some observations about the Fraenkel-Carnap question for well-orders and about the relationship between ordinal characterizability and ordinal arithmetic. The broader significance of cardinal characterizability and the relationships between different notions of characterizability are also discussed.