In the mathematical field of category theory, an amnestic functor F : A → B is a functor for which an A-isomorphism ƒ is an identity whenever Fƒ is an identity.
An example of a functor which is not amnestic is the forgetful functor Metc→Top from the category of metric spaces with continuous functions for morphisms to the category of topological spaces. If
d
1
{\displaystyle d_{1}}
and
d
2
{\displaystyle d_{2}}
are equivalent metrics on a space
X
{\displaystyle X}
then
id
:
(
X
,
d
1
)
→
(
X
,
d
2
)
{\displaystyle \operatorname {id} \colon (X,d_{1})\to (X,d_{2})}
is an isomorphism that covers the identity, but is not an identity morphism (its domain and codomain are not equal).
References
- "Abstract and Concrete Categories. The Joy of Cats". Jiri Adámek, Horst Herrlich, George E. Strecker.