The development of written language and autonoetic consciousness are separate cognitive and cultural phenomena, and there isn't a direct causal relationship between the two. Autonoetic consciousness, the ability to mentally travel back in time and re-experience past events while maintaining self-awareness, likely emerged gradually over the course of human evolution as a result of various cognitive and neurological developments.
While written language undoubtedly influenced human cognition and culture, it's not necessary to have written language for autonoetic consciousness to develop. Evidence from studies of modern human cognition and comparative research with other animals suggests that the ability to mentally time travel and re-experience past events likely evolved prior to the development of written language.
Autonoetic consciousness is rooted in several cognitive abilities, including episodic memory, self-awareness, and mental time travel, all of which are likely to have developed independently of written language. Episodic memory, for example, is essential for autonoetic consciousness and likely evolved as an adaptation to enable humans to remember past events and learn from their experiences.
Furthermore, evidence from archaeological and anthropological research suggests that early humans exhibited signs of complex cognitive abilities, including self-awareness and symbolic thinking, long before the emergence of written language. For example, the creation of art, ritual behavior, and burial practices among early humans indicates a level of self-awareness and symbolic thought consistent with the presence of autonoetic consciousness.
While written language may have influenced the development and expression of autonoetic consciousness by providing new ways to record and communicate memories and experiences, it is not a prerequisite for its existence. Autonoetic consciousness likely evolved gradually over the course of human evolution as a result of various cognitive, social, and cultural factors, independent of the development of written language.
