01631nas a2200109   4500008004100000245014100041210006900182260006900251520110500320100002301425856007301448       2002                        eng d00aA Comparison of Different Cognitive Paradigms Using Simple Animats in a Virtual Laboratory, with Implications to the Notion of Cognition0 aComparison of Different Cognitive Paradigms Using Simple Animats  bSchool of Cognitive and Computing Sciences, University of Sussex3 aIn this thesis I present a virtual laboratory which implements five different models for controlling animats: a rule-based system, a behaviour-based system, a concept-based system, a neural network, and a Braitenberg architecture. Through different experiments, I compare the performance of the models and conclude that there is no ``best'' model, since different models are better for different things in different contexts. The models I chose, although quite simple, represent different approaches for studying cognition. Using the results as an empirical philosophical aid, I note that there is no ``best'' approach for studying cognition, since different approaches have all advantages and disadvantages, because they study different aspects of cognition from different contexts. This has implications for current debates on ``proper'' approaches for cognition: all approaches are a bit proper, but none will be ``proper enough''. I draw remarks on the notion of cognition abstracting from all the approaches used to study it, and propose a simple classification for different types of cognition.1 aGershenson, Carlos  uhttp://www.cogs.susx.ac.uk/easy/Publications/Online/MSc2002/cg26.pdf