ABSTRACT
This chapter shows that some ways in which the increased understanding of primate sociality can function as a corrective to the dominant paradigm. It also suggests that the ways in which primatological insights into sociality confirm and extend some of the traditional convictions of the natural law tradition of moral reflection. Animal studies, including primatology, have promoted a much more complex view of animals and have given a much more helpful account of the diversity among species in this regard. Mainstream primatology is consistent with the atomistic individualism found in mainstream philosophy, especially among the heirs of Thomas Hobbes. More moderate views were held by J. Locke and J. J. Rousseau, but both continued to regard sociality as derivative from and useful for instrumental purposes. The ethical tradition finds important affinities and gains helpful insights with the primatological studies of natural sociality.
