Regularity without rules
Connectionist networks exhibit lawful behaviour without following explicit rules. Regularities emerge from the interactions of low-level processing units, rather than from the application of high-level rules.
Although it may be possible to characterise a network’s behaviour according to explicit rules, none are involved in its underlying mechanisms.
David Rumelhart & James McClelland, 1986.
Note: this claim is nearly identical to "Explicit rules are unnecessary" Map 3, Box 52.