Gegebenheit

Gegebenheit is a German noun (feminine: die Gegebenheit; plural: die Gegebenheiten). It denotes a fact, condition, or circumstance that is assumed or taken for granted in a specific situation. The term is widely used in science, philosophy, mathematics, law, and everyday language to mark the baseline inputs or starting points of an argument, model, or inquiry.

Etymology: from geben "to give," with the prefix ge-, forming a noun that designates something provided or given as a fact.

Usage and sense:

- In mathematics and problem solving, Gegebenheiten are the givens or given quantities: measured data, fixed parameters, or reported values that do not require proof within that context.

- In philosophy and epistemology, Gegebenheiten refer to the aspects of experience presented to the observer or the conditions of possibility of knowledge, as contrasted with hypotheses or derivations.

- In everyday German, phrases like unter den Gegebenheiten der Situation or die Gegebenheiten des Falls are common to indicate the current circumstances or facts of a case.

- In linguistics and discourse analysis, Gegebenheiten correspond to the information already known in the discourse (given information), as opposed to new information.

Gegebenheiten are often contingent and can change with new information or shifts in context. The term remains neutral and descriptive, signaling a factual basis or contextual constraint rather than a value judgment.