I think there's another factor too, which I might write up. It's not just whether the content is intellectual or dumb, but whether it's negative or uplifting. I suspect that positive articles attract more enthusiastic applause because negativity puts the reader in a more contemplative mood, which isn't conducive to breaking out in "applause." Indirectly, then, because genuine philosophy tends to be more negative or challenging than, say, the self-help industry, the algorithm ends up punishing philosophical articles and promoting the uplifting ones even when the latter are maudlin and insipid.