 In contrast to facts the obtaining/non-obtaining distinction divides states of affairs into those that obtain and those that do not obtain (see  section 1).  For this reason states of affairs cannot be truthmakers: their existence does not necessitate the truth of a truth-bearer. The state of affairs Socrates’ being foolish exists in some possible worlds in which Socrates is foolish, but it also exists in possible worlds in which Socrates is not foolish. Vallicella reinforces this point: