‘The state of things as they are. What is. What is factually the case.’ Unfortunately, it’s kind of a foundational concept. You can’t really describe it without using phrases that are equally open to question. It’s just a basic assumption you need to be able to live – that the world is a certain way, even if we’re not entirely sure of the details.

Ultimately, we’re all in the position of trying to make calculated guesses about the nature of reality. We look for reasons, for evidence, to believe one thing over another. We think some reasons are better than others. But we never know for certain. Our senses, our emotions, our rationality – all could be deceiving us. But they’re all we have to go on.