Fuzzy Set Theory

In this chapter we present the reader with the fundamental concepts of fuzzy set theory. The basic primer on fuzzy set theory remains Zadeh’s1965 seminal work. A number of scholars have since discussed several aspects of fuzzy set theory pertinent to the social sciences. Perhaps the best overview is provided by Smithson and Verkuilen (2006). Among the more thoroughly discussed topics are the construction of fuzzy numbers (Smithson and Verkuilen, 2006; Verkuilen, 2005;Bilgic and Turksen, 1995) and fuzzy set operations (Smithson and Verkuilen, 2006).