It may seem obvious that our mental lives are filled with mental action. We attend, consider, judge, reason, deliberate, accept, endorse, decide, try, and so on. It may seem that these are all things that we do. If we consider such cases through the standard theory of agency, we encounter immediately two difficulties. First, it seems that such mental occurrences are hardly ever, if ever, intentional actions. According to the standard theory, an event is an intentional action of the type A only if the agent has an intention that includes A in its content. In the basic case, this would be an intention to A. In an instrumental case, this would be an intention to perform some other action B in order to A. Now, thoughts are individuated in part by their contents. Take the thought that p. According to the standard theory, thinking that p is an intentional action only if the agent has an intention that includes “think that p” in its content. This is rather odd and problematic, because we would have to have the intention to think a certain thought before we think it. Second, there are problems with the central case of decision-making. According to the standard theory, deciding to A would be an intentional action only if one already had the intention to make a decision that includes “deciding to A” in its content. This seems, again, rather odd and problematic. Further, our reasons for making a decision to A are usually our reasons to A—they are reasons for performing the action. According to the standard theory, something is an action only if it has a reason explanation (in terms of the agent’s desires, beliefs, and intentions). As reasons are usually reasons for action, it is again difficult to see how making a decision can ever be an action. Considerations of this kind may lead one to conclude that thoughts are hardly ever, if ever, mental actions (see Strawson 2003).