I'm curious about what you mean by "recent". Aristotle considered man by nature a "political animal". Genesis states that "It is not good for man to be alone." To whom do you credit the idea that man is a "social animal"?
Aristotle has thought of himself as a "political" being, but he perceived the world and the meaning of "political" in a very different way from me and you.
I agree with you, but I think Aristotle's conception of man as a political animal all the more perceives contradiction in the quote, "I want to be human again. Even if that means isolating myself from the rest of you humans." Whereas we perhaps are inclined to see socializing as something good in its own right, Aristotle taught that the community of the city/polis has a higher aim: to fulfill the higher goal of man, to make men nobler, to make them more human.
For Aristotle, to be more virtuous was to be more human. Many virtues - patience, forgiveness, generosity, thankfulness, love, courage - are either best achieved, or only achieved, in community. Hence he reasoned that a full humanity requires a community, that therefore "man is a political animal".