An action is agentially perfect if and only if, if a person tries to perform it, they succeed, and, if a person performs it, they try to. We argue that trying itself is agentially perfect: if a person tries to try to do something, they try to do it; and, if a person tries to do something, they try to try to do it. We show how this claim sheds new light on questions about basic action, the logical structure of intentional action, and the notion of “options” in decision theory. On the way to these central ideas, we argue that a person can try to do something even if they believe it is impossible that they will succeed, that a person can try to do something even if they do not want to succeed, and that a person can try to do something even if they do not intend to succeed.

一个行为在代理上是完美的，当且仅当，如果一个人尝试执行它，他们成功了，并且，如果一个人执行它，他们尝试这样做。我们认为，尝试本身在代理上是完美的：如果一个人试图尝试做某事，他们就会尝试去做；如果一个人试图做某事，他们就会尝试去做；如果一个人试图做某事，他们就会尝试去做。而且，如果一个人试图做某事，他们就会尽力去做。我们展示了这一主张如何为有关基本行动、有意行动的逻辑结构以及决策理论中“选项”概念的问题提供新的启示。在实现这些中心思想的过程中，我们认为，一个人可以尝试做某事，即使他们相信自己不可能成功；一个人可以尝试做某事，即使他们不想成功；一个人可以尝试做某事，即使他们不想成功。一个人即使不打算成功，也可以尝试做某事。