TITLE: The Maths necessary to understand Logic, Model theory and Set theory to a very high level
QUESTION [13 upvotes]: I am studying Philosophy but most of my interests have to do with the philosophy of Maths and Logic. I would like to be able to have a very high level of competence in the topics mentioned in the title, and I was wondering, given that I don't have a mathematical background beyond basic school level maths, what particular branches of pure mathematics will help me to go deeper in my study of Logic, Model theory and Set theory? Calculus? Group theory? I hope you can give me some suggestions.

REPLY [5 votes]: This is a bit tangential to your question, but if your ultimate interest is in the philosophy of mathematics, I would believe that some knowledge of category theory, as a possible alternative to set theory as a foundation for mathematics, would be important.  The texts by Steve Awodey (Category Theory) or F. W. Lawvere and Stephen Schanuel (Conceptual Mathematics) may serve as useful introductions.