Three children are described with severe Silver-Russell syndrome. Major medical problems occurred in the first two years of life in all three. Silver-Russell syndrome should be considered in the differential diagnosis of children with severe pre- and postnatal growth deficiency.

Two arguments due to Russell are examined, and found to show that the notion of causation as full determination doesn’t mesh easily with deterministic global physics and the distinction between effective and ineffective strategies. But a local notion of causation as involving a certain kind of counterfactual dependence is, I argue, compatible with Russell’s conclusions. I defend it from a resur...