Psychology and Philosophical Intuitions

Philosophy is predominately (if not exclusively) a human activity. Recognizing this fact leads me to argue for an approach to philosophy which emphasizes what psychology and biology have to tell us about how and why philosophers do what they do. However, not only can the cognitive and evolutionary approach tell us how and why philosophers reason the way they do, it can also guide philosophers away from troublesome yet systematic mistakes, which philosophers (like all humans) are occasionally tempted to commit. I seek not only to explain how the approach is useful in theory, I also put it into practice, highlighting several important, flawed, yet seemingly sensible reasoning strategies that philosophers often employ, including the use of philosophical intuitions as evidence.