ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

State of affairs (philosophy)

Imagine that you have a bunch of toys, and you want to figure out which toys are in a certain room. This is kind of like what philosophers mean when they talk about a "state of affairs." A state of affairs is a way of describing what's going on in the world.

But instead of just talking about toys and rooms, philosophers use the idea of a state of affairs to talk about all kinds of things. They might talk about a person being happy, or a tree growing, or a book being written.

The important thing to remember is that a state of affairs is just a way of describing what's happening. It's like a big picture that shows all the details. And just like you might tell someone which toys are in the room by describing them, philosophers use states of affairs to help explain things and understand the world around us.