Ketubot 81: Accessing a yevama's property: how to find proof for what we believe

Rabbi Amram rules that a yevama's family - her father - is obligated to pay for her burial should she die while waiting for her yavam.  Abaye agrees, but Rava disagrees.  He notes that Beit Shammai holds that a signed contract is thought to be collected even if it has not actually been collected yet.  I am guessing that this principle as stated by Beit Shammai is related to the principle that one's state or status carries on unless it is actively changed.

The rabbis question whether a yavam has the right to sell property belonging to his yevama before they are married through the process of yibum.  Different rabbis present different opinions based on different proofs.  Cases are suggested to strengthen their claims.  At the end of the daf, there is a question regarding whether a baraita used is in fact erroneous.  

Again, we are faced with an interesting logical puzzle.  Baraitot are legal writings that preceded the Talmudic discussions; they informed many Mishnayot.  When the rabbis believe that a baraita is backing up their opinions, that baraita is considered to be authoritative.  When the baraita is in conflict with their rulings or their thinking, however, that baraita is questioned and even discredited.  In the big picture, our Sages believe that every one of their arguments must line up logically with every other argument.  So how can they simply write off some of their sources?

But I suppose that is exactly how I am reading the Talmud now.  When I see proofs that make sense to me, I enjoy them.  I delight in their logical perfection.  When I read proofs that I find offensive, or somehow out of place, I say to myself, "Aha! The rabbis used this proof based on their own assumptions and agendas!"  We all want to prove that our beliefs are the truth, even if we know that there is more than one truth.  

Perhaps one of the principles of Talmud study is the recognition of logical arguments that are creations of our own desires.  I want to see a feminist reading and I look for any possible woman-positive threads.  I want to find a misogynist reading and I interpret many ideas and comments as based on hatred and fear.