"Irreducibly Complex Organisms"

Among modern supporters of teleological arguments are the likes of biochemist Michael Behe whose book Darwin’s Black Box suggests that some organisms are, as he calls them, “irreducibly complex”. Such organisms—or ‘moleular machines’—can not be subject to an evolutionary process because to function they must exist in toto or not at all. Behe argues that there are numerous example of molecular machines, such as the cilium: a hair-like machine that moves fluid over animal cells. It is composed of many parts, each needing the other in order to operate. It could not have evolved just as a mousetrap could not have evolved because all functioning parts are required simultaneously for it to work.