problems with authors

It strikes me that there are potential pitfalls involved in reading books written by people. That is, it can incline us to confront the author, not the book (not the ideas). For example, upon reading, the competitive edge in me out, and I immediately see the book as something to be refuted; I don't even take its ideas under consideration (though I may think about them a great deal). I could go on in this vein for a while, but I won't. The basic point is that it might be better if I read a book as if I had written it myself, as if I were whispering the words into my own ear - as if they appeared in my mind from nowhere.

But this is not quite right either. After all, the point of all this has to do with what we believe, what we value, etc. To paraphrase Aristotle, the point of our inquiry, our reading and writing and discussing, is right action. So - if another person has made a mistake, then I would be well-served to tell them - or to show them - to help them realize their mistake. This is essentially connected with seeing a person (this person) as the author of the work.