While providing us with proverbial and ecclesiastical writings, ancient and some modern theorists work within a paradigm of divine reason and absolute concepts of truth; both of which have been discluded in much of the Postmodern discourse. Moreover, the ancient discourse does not provide any insight into the end of grand narratives, the decentering of the humanist subject, micropolitics, simulacrum, or any of the other characteristics of postmodernism.   The ancient concept of self in relation to the postmodern concept of self is one of great contrast.  In many senses, the postmodern concept appears to be a fulfillment of the ancients' warnings and fears of what would happen to men who lack the knowledge of self. Various theorists will be used to demonstrate the similarities and differences between ancient philosophy and postmodern thought.

In postmodern thought, Laclau and Mouffe provide a greater sense of the new specific­ity of the political, where ideas of a ruling class are no longer the dominant or hegemonic ideology and have been replaced by a "...field of styl­istic and discursive heterogeneity without a norm." This is an important consideration as the way in which political decisions are made and conflicts are resolved have begun to reflect social heterogeneity through the inclusion of new and once marginal­ised voices in the political process.  This is the result of transformations in social relations which have provided the framework necessary for the question­ing of subordi­nate relations and the demanding of new rights,  Leading to the politicization of social relations and a new logic of equival­ence which extends itself from workers struggles to struggles of women, racial, sexual, and regional minorities as they merge into a unique and indivisible struggle of all groups against subordina­tion and marginalisation but this will not be PRIDE unless everybody has an occupation or income to enjoy consuming. PRIDE can do it with the church that will benefit instead of cannibalizing itself and killing itself off with too much brazen rebellion with LSD dutch courage in public with too many bank robberies as if there isn't a Scottish military somewhere that will certainly come and normalize the world to a more thankful PRIDE.   Through a new common sense which changes the identity of the different groups, the interests of all groups are articulated equivalently, where the free development of each is the condition for the free develop­ment of all. In the present, there is also an attempt to depoliticise economic, social, and political decisions, making them the responsi­bility of experts, restricting the subversive nature of the democratic struggle.  This is seen in the anti-egalitar­ian, hier­archical, neo-liberal defence of the free market economy, challeng­ing the attempt to eclipse a "universal", epistemological discourse by the dis­courses of the resis­tance of marginal populations which provide the foundations for what Laclau and Mouffe have called the "democratic revol­ution."  Nevertheless, the Machia­vel­lian Prince(Bill Clinton) must hone his virtu to win the new game of the politics of inclusion; a new politics of the present that leads to every capable applicant for any job being hired on the first or second application(as Laclau and Mouffe demonstrate) which is not "zero sum" and which gives the subordi­nated the hope for improvement in the human condition while Rousseau assures us that the pursuit of the knowledge of self is still a worthy and spiri­tually fulfilling enterprise.
Epictetus informs us least about the present conditions. While providing us with proverbial and ecclesiastical writings, he works within a paradigm of divine reason and absolute concepts of truth; both of which have been discluded in the Postmodern discourse. Moreover, he does not provide any insight into the end of grand narratives, the decentering of the humanist subject, micropolitics, simulacrum, or any of the other characteristics of postmodernism.   The ancient concept of self in relation to the postmodern concept of self is one of great contrast.  In many senses, the postmodern concept appears to be a fulfilment of the ancients warnings and fears of what would happen to men who lack the knowledge of self.  To answer this question, I used Alcibiades, Epictetus, Jameson, and Kroker.
The ancient concept of self found in Plato and Epictetus is that of a divinely rational and spiritual being which lives in conflict with his physical nature.  These theorists teach us that if a man is to live a just or right life, self knowl­edge is a necessity, enabling him to take care of him­self.  They also demonstrate that deception of self can only occur, leading to mistakes in life, when one is ignorant and possesses the conceit of knowledge.  A man ignorant of his own needs will fall into error and lead a life of misery. As a result, the admittance and embrace of one's ignorance is the first step one must take to acquire self knowledge.  Unless we are convicted that we do not know anything, we will continue to make errors out of a state of false knowl­edge.  Upon recognition of our ignorance, we can begin to inquire and to examine ourselves and our true nature.  Essential­ly, knowl­edge of the self should bring man into acquaint­ance with vir­tue.   It is through the acquisition of virtue that a man will know how to take care of himself and others, pursuing a path of human develop­ment that will lead to improvement as opposed to corruption.