My favorites vary, according the the inspiration I need. Epicurus comes to mind. But I found one contemporary one, who is actually a Pastor and calls himself an ethical Christian in the sense of only the positive message of that faith. I have his book 'A Bigger Table' in which he describes his journey ways from religion. I follow his daily essays on Face Book, which are truly stirring and totally secular. His insights blow me a way. I am, have been all my life and remain a Fire Brand Atheist.

He's Nietzsche no doubt, the meaning of life is the life of meaning, your thoughts works and goals create this meaning. He corrected the Schopenhauer statement that claims ; If there's no god so life has no meaning! Nietzsche said that the absence of god give us unlimited power to add meaning to our life.

Me! I know the meaning of life. It is an individual thing. For me the meaning of life is eating, fucking, art, music, animals, plants, and as I go along bringing some joy and humor to others, because we matter not to the universe, but only to each other.

I'm not looking for the meaning in life, I'm trying to make my own meaning. But my favorite philosophers are Miguel d'Unamuno (forgot how to spell his name), Kurt Godel, and Bertrand Russel.

Scientists made the philosopher obsolete centuries ago. Why wonder about the answers when a lot of them can be known.

meaning presupposes purpose, we are just the result of random chemical processes, there is no inherent meaning.

When I was a believer, I thought the Jesus/God gave life meaning (we are here because God created us in hope that we would choose to love him--and all that garbage). As a non believer, I feel no need to ponder its meaning; as, cosmically speaking, there is none. Life is rare, yet we are here. Billions upon billions of random events resulted in us being here--and that is a marvelous thing in itself. I do not need there to be a reason for me to be here as opposed to another; and it is up to each of us to give our lives meaning.

I think I'm a little two linear minded for this question. Most certainly not a "philosopher" as such, but Charles Darwin. Stay alive, pass on your gene pool, basic human desires. However, cram as much fun and life in as you possibly can along the way

I think for me, the book The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make us Human by Jonathan Gottschall kind of sums up where I am right now. The power of the story and how it transforms us. That the mind creates stories and those stories give us meaning. This is probably why myth is so powerful. When you think about, most of our consciousness is us simply telling stories to each other.

I especially started to notice this when I would hang out at my favorite coffee shop and write. Very often I would be invited into someone private conversation (not on purpose, but they spoke so loud is was difficult to miss them). I started to notice that they were just telling stories to each other. "And she said... " "and then I told her..." Our memories are stories (though fictionalized for the most part). When we listen to our internal dialog, we're telling stories to ourselves.

"From the book: At year one, a baby can pretend. At two, a toddler can cooperate in simple dramas. Two-year-olds also begin learning how to develop a character. At three or four, children enter into the golden age of pretend play." Which we never leave as we take on various characters based on the group we're trying to fit into.

But I also love the article: The Universe Doesn't Give a Flying About You by J. Truant. It's brilliant.