Hi Arphy, thanks for joining this thread.
For me I tend to read for understanding if I feel that the other person is at least making an attempt to read my arguments for understanding. I think it is important to fully understand what the other person is saying because otherwise there is a tendancy to just lump them into a generic view, ...
... and make assumptions of what they are saying instead.
That is that we might find ourselves arguing against something simply because that person is on the other side of the debate rather than taking the time to understand a person's position and then recognising that we have some common ground.
Yes, and I've seen people go on and on about an issue that is of their own making, misunderstanding the original point.
I feel it is necessary to establish the common ground first before you can debate the finer points, especially when this can involve interpretations of words in different manners.
... can often be felt the other way round as well.
Agreed, which is why I pointedly refrained from framing this as a evo vs creo issue.
Enjoy.