Final answer:
The coin toss example is used to demonstrate chance and probability, but a deeper philosophical examination, considering an all-knowing deity's knowledge, challenges the concept of free will, suggesting that our choices, much like the outcome of a coin toss, may be predictable and not truly free. The hard determinism perspective outright denies free will, attributing human behavior to brain chemistry and conditioning.
Step-by-step explanation:
The coin toss is often used to illustrate the concept of chance and probability, relating to the notion of free will. When you toss a coin, it's broadly seen as a fair way to make a decision because each side of the coin (heads or tails) has an equal probability of landing face up, which is 50%. However, the philosophical argument considering deep openness suggests that if every event (including a coin toss) is deeply open to numerous possibilities, then the predictability of any outcome is severely compromised. This extends to human actions. If an all-knowing deity informs us of the consequences of our choices, as in the example of going through door #3 and creating a future murderer, our free will feels intact because we still made the choice. However, if the deity's knowledge is complete and infallible, it could imply that the choice was predictable, thus challenging the notion of free will. In the realm of hard determinism, the existence of absolute freedom is denied; beliefs and actions are viewed as products of brain chemistry and conditioning rather than individual choice. From this perspective, the apparent sensation of making a free choice could be an illusion, with the real underlying causes being deterministic in nature.