Existentialism

One of the most influential schools of philosophy in recent times has been driven by the idea that philosophy must start not with logical axioms or the fruits of observation, but with simple contemplation of the strangeness inherent in being human. A diverse range of reactions to this idea have evolved over the years, but they all fit under the umbrella known as existentialism. You can read more about that here:
Existentialism

The range of value systems covered by the label "existentialist" is truly remarkable. Kierkegaard is often cited as one of the first influential existentialists, but the ideas here are a lot older than the 19th Century. Maybe I was in high school and not thinking very clearly, but I found the ideas in Camus's The Myth of Sisyphus eerily similar to those written millennia earlier in the book of Ecclesiastes. The movement picked up steam and became aligned more with atheism than Christianity in the 20th Century, with the works of Nietzsche, Heidegger, Sartre, and de Beauvoir particularly influential. The French connection to existentialism is so strong that Jean Gerard listed it as one of the three most important French contributions to society in Talledega Nights (along with crepes and the menage a trois). I probably would've put pasteurization in there somewhere, but reasonable people can disagree about such things.

I'm not fooling anyone am I? The real reason I'm writing this is as an excuse to post the following video: