So here's an article linking the poor thinking of philosophers with another study showing scientific think by scientists....

Teleological thinking, the belief that certain phenomena are better explained by purpose than by cause, is not scientific. An example of teleological thinking in biology would be: “Plants emit oxygen so that animals can breathe.” However, a recent study (Deborah Kelemen and others, Journal Experimental Psychology, 2013) showed that there is a strong, but suppressed, tendency towards teleological thinking among scientists, which surfaces under pressure.

Eighty scientists plus control groups were presented with 100 one-sentence statements and asked to answer true or false. Some of the statements were teleological, as in the example quoted above. Half had to answer within three seconds, while others had as long as they liked to answer.

The scientists endorsed fewer teleological statements than the controls (22 per cent versus 50 per cent). But when they were rushed, the scientists endorsed 29 per cent of the teleological statements compared with 15 per cent endorsed by unrushed scientists. This study seems to show that a teleological tendency is a resilient and enduring feature of the human mind.

The under pressure qualification is really important. Its known that people don't fire on all cylinders under pressure ... its one of the bases of Derren Brown style Dark arts. Scientists and philosophers, unlike ER room doctors or soldiers, don't produce their proffessional results as pressured individuals. The results are psychologically interesting, bug have no bearing on how well anyone is doing their job.