Sachverhalte

Sachverhalt is a German noun that denotes a state of affairs, the actual arrangement of things and their relations at a given time. It is used across disciplines to refer to how the world is, rather than to a statement about it. In philosophical and logical contexts, a Sachverhalt is something that can obtain or fail to obtain; a proposition may express or represent a Sachverhalt, while the Sachverhalt itself is what would be true or false.

In philosophy and logic, the concept helps distinguish between sentences or propositions and the world they describe. A sentence can be true or false depending on whether a corresponding Sachverhalt obtains. The term is common in discussions of truth, reference, and meaning, where states of affairs are taken as the building blocks of facts and truth conditions.

In law, the Sachverhalt refers to the factual background of a case. Legal texts typically describe the Sachverhalt to ground the application of rules and statutes. Parties may dispute aspects of the Sachverhalt, which are then clarified through evidence, testimony, and documentation. The factual section is separate from legal reasoning and conclusions, though the two interact closely in judicial judgments.

Beyond philosophy and law, the term appears in linguistics and cognitive science to describe the situation a sentence or discourse concerns. Translations such as “state of affairs,” “fact of the matter,” or “factual background” are commonly used, depending on context.