Causation: Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment Practice Test

A secondary source contends that the Scientific Revolution weakened older Aristotelian and scholastic explanations by emphasizing experiment, measurement, and the possibility that long-accepted claims could be disproved. The author links this shift to Enlightenment anticlericalism: if nature could be investigated without deference to ancient authorities, then religious and political claims grounded in tradition also became open to scrutiny. According to this causal interpretation, which Enlightenment tendency most clearly followed from the Scientific Revolution’s challenge to authority?

A secondary-source account notes that scientific academies and salons created new spaces where educated Europeans exchanged findings, evaluated evidence, and cultivated reputations based on merit and publication rather than lineage. The author argues that these practices helped normalize public criticism and fostered Enlightenment “republic of letters” networks that could circulate reform proposals across borders. Which Enlightenment-era development was most directly caused by the social practices associated with Scientific Revolution institutions?