The debate between empiricism — knowledge derived from sensory experience — and rationalism — knowledge derived from reason independent of experience — is among the oldest in philosophy, and its resolution by Kant (that experience and structure are both necessary) still does not fully settle it. The Sutras' own epistemology holds that direct perception (pratyakṣa) is primary but that inference (anumāna) and reliable testimony (āgama) are also valid sources — a pragmatic pluralism that refuses to reduce knowing to a single source. This debate matters practically because what you believe about the sources of knowledge shapes how you design learning.
Each step builds on the last.