 However, the Critique of Pure Reason should not be read as a demolition of reason’s cognitive role. Kant certainly wants to delimit the bounds of reason, but this is not the same as arguing that it has no role in our knowledge. Three points are crucial: (§1.1) the relation of reason to empirical truth; (§1.2) reason’s role in scientific enquiry; and (§1.3) the positive gains that come from appreciating reason’s  limits.[1]  In addition, sound philosophical reasoning requires that reason gain knowledge of itself—a task that the first Critique begins, but does not complete (§1.4).