The Causal Analysis of an Adaptive System: Sex-Ratio Decisions as Observed in a Parasitic Wasp and Simulated by a Network Model

The computer metaphor, based on rule and symbol manipulation, is challenged by our connectionist model. Neural nets, Parallel Distributed Processing systems, etc. are capable to achieve goals by way of cooperative activity and can ignore all gadgets that are required in the computational models based on the digital computer metaphor. The consequences of our structure-oriented modelling approach for causal and functional explanations in ethology are discussed.