Giuseppe Attanasi
email: giuseppe.attanasi@uniroma1.it

Barbara Buljat Raymond

Agnès Festré
email: agnes.festre@univ-cotedazur.fr

Andrea Guido
email: andrea.guido@bsb-education.com

Augmented Reality technology as a tool for promoting pro-environmental behavior and attitudes

Keywords:

psychological distance pro-environmental behavior pro-environmental attitudes

A B S T R A C T

We test whether augmented reality (AR) can serve as a fundraising tool by providing a more immersive way of communicating about environmental issues. In two incentivized studies, we exposed people to AR visualizations illustrating the consequences of plastic pollution, and measure the effect on participants' psychological distance, concern, intention to act and real proenvironmental behavior (donation to pro-environmental organizations). Results show evidence of heterogeneous effects depending on participants' self-reported pro-environmental attitudes and personal characteristics: following the intervention, individuals with low environmental engagement were likely to reduce their psychological distance, while the opposite happened for individuals engaged in sustainable practices. However, despite AR visualizations reduced the psychological distance of a subset of individuals, our experimental intervention did not increase donation levels. Taken together, our results raise concerns about the use of AR technologies in fundraising and highlight the need for personalised interventions that take into account the heterogeneity of target groups.

Introduction

Our world is facing an unprecedented environmental crisis. One of the fastest growing problems is plastic pollution, mainly caused by the overconsumption of single-use plastic products, especially due to personal protective equipment during the global COVID-19 pandemic (UNEP, 2021). However, besides constant warnings from leading global institutions, environmental policies often fail to achieve much-needed behavioral change. In the past decade, insights from behavioral economics and psychology have become widely recognised and applied for achieving more effective environmental policies [START_REF] Bhargava | Behavioral economics and public policy 102: Beyond nudging[END_REF].

Nonprofit organizations play an important role in the fight towards the environmental sustainability: they communicate and educate on current issues, influence design and implementation of environmental policies, support relevant research and mobilise public support for environmental protection [START_REF] Nisbet | Strategic philanthropy in the post-cap-and-trade years: reviewing u.s. climate and energy foundation funding[END_REF][START_REF] Osuri | Charities warm to climate[END_REF]. However, unlike companies, which generate their income through the sale of products and services, non-profits often rely on voluntary donations to carry out their activities. Therefore, understanding what triggers people's decision to donate is crucial to the success of any non-profits' initiative [START_REF] Freeling | Funding conservation through an emerging social movement[END_REF][START_REF] Verssimo | Why do people donate to conservation? insights from a "real world" campaign[END_REF].

On the other hand, communicating about environmental problems is challenging because of the lack of direct experiences. People are rarely directly exposed to environmental threats, and may therefore perceive them as remote and irrelevant risks [START_REF] Carmi | Further than the eye can see: Psychological distance and perception of environmental threats[END_REF][START_REF] Spence | The psychological distance of climate change[END_REF]. Psychological distance [START_REF] Trope | Construal-level theory of psychological distance[END_REF] from environmental issues has been put forward by the literature as a possible explanation albeit with mixed evidence, for the citizens' relative lack of concern or action towards environmental crises [START_REF] Mcdonald | Personal experience and the 'psychological distance' of climate change: An integrative review[END_REF]. However, while research suggests that personal experience of environmental threats is likely to bring environmental issues psychologically closer and increase perceptions of their risks [START_REF] Akerlof | Do people "personally experience" global warming, and if so how, and does it matter?[END_REF][START_REF] Van Der Linden | Improving public engagement with climate change: Five "best practice" insights from psychological science[END_REF], exposing everyone to environmental threats would be complicated, lengthy, costly or even dangerous.

One idea to overcome this limitation would be to use immersive technologies such as augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR), to communicate about environmental issues more vividly and to promote pro-environmental behaviors. Indeed, receiving information 'in-situ' plays an important role in cognitive processes such as learning and decision-making, and virtual technologies could be a suitable alternative to direct experiences to support 'situatedness' [START_REF] Goel | Decision-making in-socio and in-situ: Facilitation in virtual worlds[END_REF]. By providing sensory-rich experiences, these types of technologies can create a sense of presence [START_REF] Mol | Goggles in the lab: Economic experiments in immersive virtual environments[END_REF] and make users feel like they are directly experiencing environmental issues. However, to our knowledge, there is no study that examines the impact of AR on psychological distance from environmental threats.

To address this gap, we conducted two related studies. First, we designed an incentivized laboratory experiment to investigate whether AR visualizations can reduce psychological distance and promote pro-environmental behaviour. Specifically, we designed two controlled conditions. In our treatment condition, participants used an AR-based application demonstrating the consequences of plastic pollution on the most affected animals, while in our control condition, participants only read a message describing the consequences of plastic pollution on marine life. In both conditions, we experimentally observed individual pro-social behavior, by measuring voluntary donations to an environmental organisation using a well-established experimental paradigm 1 . We then complemented donations choices with additional measures such as perceived psychological distance, environmental concern and attitudes. Second, we replicated the same experiment but in a more natural setting to test whether the same AR intervention 'in the field' is more effective than AR intervention in the context-free laboratory settings.

On the contrary to our expectations, the results show that the effect of AR on psychological distance is zero overall in both the laboratory and the field, but heterogeneous at the individual level. After the intervention, individuals with low environmental commitment feel psychologically closer to the problem of plastic pollution, while the opposite seems to be the case for individuals with high environmental commitment. When evaluating the impact of AR on donation behaviour, we find no evidence of a mediating effect between psychological distance and pro-environmental behaviour on donation levels.

Our paper suggests important practical implications for policy-makers. The experimental results raise awareness about the actual effectiveness of new technologies, such as AR, in promoting behavioral change. Recent work has highlighted the importance of evaluating heterogeneous effects when designing interventions [START_REF] Bryan | Behavioural science is unlikely to change the world without a heterogeneity revolution[END_REF]). Policy-makers should avoid "one-size-fit-all" solutions and be aware of possible unintended consequences affecting sub-group of the population before making decisions. We provide concrete guidelines for the use of AR in environmental interventions focused on fundraising, which can be useful for optimising the communication strategy of policy makers, non-profit organisations and environmentalists.

Second, the theoretical contribution of this research implies new insights into the use of novel technologies to promote pro-environmental behaviour using a donation game. This paper presents the first experimental investigation of the impact of AR technology on individuals' motivation to engage in pro-environmental behaviour by reducing their psychological distance from environmental issues. Third, the study provides a methodological example of using AR to bring context and field cues to laboratory experiments needed to evaluate policies and test individual decision-making.

The rest of the paper is organized as follows. Section 2 presents the relevant literature and hypotheses of the study. Section 3 describes the laboratory experiment. Section 4 describes the contextualized 'in the field' experiment and the relation with our first study. Section 5 discusses main results, draws on policy implications, and discloses the limitations of our experimental studies.

Relevant literature and hypotheses

Psychological distance and risk perception of environmental issues

Despite urgent calls for action from global environmental institutions and researchers (UNEP, 2021), the behavioural changes needed to achieve sustainability are still in their infancy. Even when people are aware of environmental issues, translating their intentions into actual behaviour is no easy task [START_REF] Kollmuss | Mind the gap: Why do people act environmentally and what are the barriers to pro-environmental behavior[END_REF]. Communicating environmental issues is challenging because of their abstract nature and the discrepancy between their causes and consequences. Indeed, we rarely experience environmental threats directly. For example, people living in the cities rarely observe the accumulation of plastic waste, as it is mostly found in remote locations -on exotic beaches or deep in the oceans. Research suggests that this lack of direct experience leads people to perceive environmental problems as temporally, socially or spatially distant events [START_REF] Carmi | Further than the eye can see: Psychological distance and perception of environmental threats[END_REF][START_REF] Mcdonald | Personal experience and the 'psychological distance' of climate change: An integrative review[END_REF].

In social psychology literature, this phenomenon is called psychological distance. As explained by Construal-Level Theory (CLT), psychological distance is a subjective perception of how far an object or event is from the here and now -from oneself, from this place and time. When we do not experience something directly, but think about it, remember it or imagine it, we create abstract mental construals. If, on the other hand, an object is psychologically close to us, its mental construal becomes more concrete and we can think about it in more detail. This perceived psychological distance can be measured by four interdependent dimensions (temporal, spatial, social and hypothetical) that influence the estimation of when, where, for whom and whether an event occurs [START_REF] Trope | Construal-level theory of psychological distance[END_REF].

Therefore, we can assume that those who do not have the chance to experience environmental threats, but view them as something distant in space and time, perceive them as less real or tangible events that are not likely to happen to them in the near future, or not at all, leading to environmental behaviour being seen as unnecessary adaptation. Indeed, some studies have shown that psychological distance can lead to environmental threats being perceived as abstract and not personally relevant risks [START_REF] Carmi | Further than the eye can see: Psychological distance and perception of environmental threats[END_REF][START_REF] Spence | The psychological distance of climate change[END_REF].

One study examined the relationship between participants' perceived psychological distance from climate change and their level of concern and willingness to act. The results suggest that reducing psychological distance may be a promising strategy to motivate pro-environmental behaviour, as it increases concern about the issue. In their study, concern about the environment was strongly related to intention to behave in an environmentally friendly way. Note, however, that actual behaviour was not measured [START_REF] Spence | The psychological distance of climate change[END_REF]. In addition, one study showed that people feel more responsible for environmental degradation at the local level and less responsible the distance increases [START_REF] Uzzell | The psycho-spatial dimension of global environmental problems[END_REF].

It seems that communicators should focus on finding a strategy to minimise psychological distance, as this could lead to greater concern and perception of environmental risks, greener behaviour and greater support for environmental policies [START_REF] Fox | Using a serious game to communicate risk and minimize psychological distance regarding environmental pollution[END_REF][START_REF] Spence | The psychological distance of climate change[END_REF][START_REF] Van Der Linden | Improving public engagement with climate change: Five "best practice" insights from psychological science[END_REF]. Furthermore, effective pro-environmental communication should help people better understand the consequences of their actions and make an issue relevant to the target group -their social group, place and time [START_REF] Spence | The psychological distance of climate change[END_REF].

While concrete, direct experiences seem to be effective in raising people's awareness of risks and encouraging their environmental behaviour [START_REF] Akerlof | Do people "personally experience" global warming, and if so how, and does it matter?[END_REF][START_REF] Van Der Linden | Improving public engagement with climate change: Five "best practice" insights from psychological science[END_REF], this approach can be complicated, costly or even dangerous in the real world -taking citizens to remote beaches and underwater to observe the effects of environmental crises such as ocean acidification and plastic pollution could even be counterproductive. Nevertheless, it is important to change behaviour before more serious events occur.

One solution to overcome practical limitations and bring environmental problems psychologically closer could be the use of immersive media: content presented in an interactive and vivid format can translate abstract mental constructs into concrete ones, bring distant places closer, bring future events closer, and demonstrate the impact of environmental crises here and now, as suggested by [START_REF] Ahn | Framing virtual experiences: Effects on environmental efficacy and behavior over time[END_REF].

Immersive technologies and the sense of presence

People have always been impressed by the idea of being in one reality while simultaneously experiencing another. Technologies such as VR and AR have changed the way we consume content and experience the real and physical environment. While VR is fully immersive and "transports" the user into a virtual environment by blocking the view with a head-mounted display (HMD), AR uses smart glasses or screens to blend the real and the virtual -by overlaying reality with three-dimensional digital objects in real time, it creates the illusion that they really exist there [START_REF] Azuma | A survey of augmented reality[END_REF]. The rapid development of new technologies, the internet and mobile devices has opened up new possibilities for the immersive technology market, making it affordable and popular for the general public [START_REF] Flavián | The impact of virtual, augmented and mixed reality technologies on the customer experience[END_REF].

What distinguishes immersive media from other traditional media is its ability to produce highly vivid and interactive content that creates a sense of presence -the feeling of "being there" [START_REF] Steuer | Defining virtual reality: Dimensions determining telepresence[END_REF]. Presence is valued for its persuasive impact in a variety of disciplines, such as environmental and health communication [START_REF] Bailey | The impact of vivid messages on reducing energy consumption related to hot water use[END_REF][START_REF] Ahn | Feeling the weight of calories: using haptic feedback as virtual exemplars to promote risk perception among young females on unhealthy snack choices[END_REF]. While VR gives users the feeling of being present in an artificial environment mediated by technology, AR tends to create the illusion that digital objects are present in the users' real environment. If the virtual experience includes living beings, there is a chance of convincing users to see them as real and eliciting reactions such as fear or empathy. One of the first examples of emotional relationships with computers is Tamagotchi, a pocket device that acted as a virtual pet and got people to behave socially and form relationships [START_REF] Fogg | Persuasive technology: using computers to change what we think and do[END_REF].

The compelling nature of immersive media makes it a suitable tool for environmental communication. If these sensory-rich immersive experiences could give users the feeling of directly experiencing the environmental threat and thus reduce the perceived psychological distance to environmental issues, immersive technologies could be proposed as Green IS -a technological solution that has the ability to orient users towards green behaviour [START_REF] Melville | Information systems innovation for environmental sustainability[END_REF].

Immersive experiments related to environmental engagement

Laboratory experiments are used in the discipline of environmental economics as a valid and reliable method to test theories in a controlled, context-free environment [START_REF] Sturm | Experiments in environmental economics and some close relatives[END_REF]. However, since people rarely make decisions in context-free environments [START_REF] Harrison | Field experiments[END_REF], researchers came up with the idea of "bringing the field into the lab" and using virtual environments to provide participants with the necessary context to test more realistic decision-making [START_REF] Innocenti | Virtual reality experiments in economics[END_REF][START_REF] Mol | Goggles in the lab: Economic experiments in immersive virtual environments[END_REF].

The concept of using virtual experiments to test environmental policy was introduced by Fiore, Harrison, Hughes and Rutström ( 2009), who showed that virtual experiences can reduce judgement errors. In their study, participants watched virtual simulations of forest fires on a computer screen, whereupon their responses reflected beliefs that were closer to actual risks [START_REF] Fiore | Virtual experiments and environmental policy[END_REF]. Several studies followed, examining the effects of low-immersive (computer screen) virtual environments on internal determinants of environmental behaviour and support for environmental policies [START_REF] Bateman | Reducing gain-loss asymmetry: A virtual reality choice experiment valuing land use change[END_REF][START_REF] Olschewski | Avalanche protection by forests -a choice experiment in the swiss alps[END_REF][START_REF] Matthews | Communicating the deadly consequences of global warming for human heat stress[END_REF]. Lately, researchers moved on to high-immersive virtual environments that create higher levels of immersion, such as AR or VR [START_REF] Innocenti | Virtual reality experiments in economics[END_REF][START_REF] Ahn | Short-and long-term effects of embodied experiences in immersive virtual environments on environmental locus of control and behavior[END_REF][START_REF] Ahn | Experiencing nature: Embodying animals in immersive virtual environments increases inclusion of nature in self and involvement with nature[END_REF]. In one study, for example, participants experienced cutting down a tree in virtual reality, whereupon they used 20Other studies suggest that immersive storytelling in VR can increase concern and risk perception about environmental issues [START_REF] Chirico | Virtual reality and music therapy as distraction interventions to alleviate anxiety and improve mood states in breast cancer patients during chemotherapy[END_REF][START_REF] Markowitz | Immersive virtual reality field trips facilitate learning about climate change[END_REF][START_REF] Breves | Good for the feelings, bad for the memory: the impact of 3d versus 2d movies on persuasion knowledge and brand placement effectiveness[END_REF], connect users more closely with nature [START_REF] Ahn | Experiencing nature: Embodying animals in immersive virtual environments increases inclusion of nature in self and involvement with nature[END_REF][START_REF] Breves | Into the wild: The effects of 360°immersive nature videos on feelings of commitment to the environment[END_REF] and increase donations to environmental organisations for certain groups [START_REF] Nelson | Virtual reality as a tool for environmental conservation and fundraising[END_REF].

A few studies have tested whether virtual reality is able to manipulate psychological distance from environmental issues [START_REF] Ahn | Experiencing nature: Embodying animals in immersive virtual environments increases inclusion of nature in self and involvement with nature[END_REF][START_REF] Breves | Good for the feelings, bad for the memory: the impact of 3d versus 2d movies on persuasion knowledge and brand placement effectiveness[END_REF][START_REF] Breves | Into the wild: The effects of 360°immersive nature videos on feelings of commitment to the environment[END_REF][START_REF] Markowitz | Immersive virtual reality field trips facilitate learning about climate change[END_REF]. If computer simulations appear sufficiently "real" in a virtual environment, participants may treat them as if they really happened [START_REF] Fiore | Virtual experiments and environmental policy[END_REF]. Consequently, the sense of spatial presence created in immersive virtual environments may minimise perceived psychological distance or increase risk perception for an environmental problem [START_REF] Ahn | Experiencing nature: Embodying animals in immersive virtual environments increases inclusion of nature in self and involvement with nature[END_REF][START_REF] Breves | Bridging psychological distance: The impact of immersive media on distant and proximal environmental issues[END_REF].

While VR technology tends to be represented in virtual experiments, three studies have experimentally investigated whether AR can guide people to adopt pro-environmental behaviours when grocery shopping. In these studies, participants used the application AR, which displayed additional information about products, such as their carbon footprint [START_REF] Isley | Using augmented reality to inform consumer choice and lower carbon footprints[END_REF]Arent, 2017) Schaeffer et al., 2018;Joerss et al., 2021. The results suggest that AR can influence consumer behaviour and encourage shoppers to make more sustainable product choices [START_REF] Isley | Using augmented reality to inform consumer choice and lower carbon footprints[END_REF].

To our knowledge, however, there is no study that experimentlally examined the effectiveness of AR on its ability to manipulate psychological distance from environmental issues. Therefore, in this contribution we investigated (1) whether AR is able to manipulate psychological distance to an environmental issue and (2) whether the reduced psychological distance could stimulate pro-environmental behaviour at the individual level.

Immersive technologies can be used to virtually simulate experiences of environmental degradation. If the virtual experience seems sufficiently real, it can trigger a sense of presence or "being there" and thus serve as an alternative to a direct experience. If the feeling of presence is achieved, we assume that such an intervention can reduce the perceived psychological distance. Based on the existing literature on psychological distance (PD) and previous experiments with immersive media, we therefore hypothesise the following:

• H1: AR intervention reduces psychological distance (PD) Following previous literature on psychological distance to an environmental problem (climate change) and its association with intentions to act (Spence et al. ( 2012)), we hypothesise that reduced psychological distance can trigger pro-environmental behaviour, which we measure by voluntary donations to an environmental organisation. Therefore, we hypothesise:

• H2: Psychological distance mediates the effect of AR on pro-environmental behavior (voluntary donation to an environmental organization)

Considering that AR scenes of wildlife indoors may seem unrealistic [START_REF] Buljat | Augmented reality for nudging green behavior: Design, evaluation and implementation[END_REF], we hypothesise that the same experience outdoors could seem more realistic and therefore be more effective in reducing psychological distance. We hypothesise the following:

• H3: AR intervention 'in the field' is more effective in reducing psychological distance (PD) than AR intervention in the laboratory.

For the same reason, we expect that an AR experience outdoor can trigger more pro-environmental behavior, which we measure by voluntary donations. We hypothesise:

• H4: AR intervention 'in the field' is more effective in promoting environmental behavior (voluntary donation to an environmental organization) than AR intervention in the laboratory.

Study 1 (AR interventions in the Lab)

We conducted an incentivized laboratory experiment to test the effects of AR on psychological distance and proenvironmental behaviour. We tested whether participants' generosity towards environmental organisations responded to immersive AR experiences showing the consequences of plastic pollution for the five most endangered animals.

The experiment was composed of several parts to collect pre-experimental measures, individual choices in a donation game and self-reported attitudes towards plastic pollution. In the following, we describe the design and procedure of the experiment.

Methods

Experimental procedures and treatments design

We employed between-subject experimental design with two experimental conditions: a Control and the AR treatment. The sessions were individual (one participant per session) and took place in the faculty premises, in two empty large classrooms with identical settings: closed windows, all lights on and a single table and chair in the corner. Upon arrival at the lab, participants signed an informed consent form, were given a code which they later used for the lottery, and were randomly assigned to either the control group or the AR group.

After entering the room, each participant took a seat at the table with the tablet device. The experimenter read out the introductory text, which contained information about the experiment, the rights of the participants, data collection and incentives. Participants were informed that they would be taking part in a decision-making study. Participants were informed that they had an equal chance to win €300 in a lottery and that they could choose to donate a desired amount to an environmental organisation of their choice from the predefined list.

The first part of the experiment was the same for both treatments. Participants completed the pre-questionnaire, which collected demographic information, their environmental engagement, familiarity with technologies, previous donation experience and preferences for environmental organisations. Participants could choose to donate to one of the 12 well-known environmental organisations accepting donations through the website. The pre-questionnaire can be found in Appendix B.

After the participants had filled in the pre-questionnaire, the experimenter gave them a sheet with a short text about the harmful effects of plastic pollution and the call for donations, as one might encounter in real life. The experimenter read the text aloud. After reading the text, participants in the control group moved on to the main questionnaire, while participants in the AR treatment group were asked to stand up and come to the centre of the room. The experimenter set up the mobile AR application Eco Animals on the tablet and explained to them how to use it. Participants were asked to interact with the application for 2 minutes and then continued with the main questionnaire.

The main questionnaire assessed psychological distance [START_REF] Spence | The psychological distance of climate change[END_REF], environmental concern and donations in the Donation Game.

Participants in the AR treatment answered three additional questions: whether they felt the presence of animals in the room, whether they had similar experiences in the past, and whether the application brought them closer to the problem of plastic pollution. The questionnaires were created via Lime Survey (an online questionnaire service used by our university that ensures data protection and complies with European data protection regulations) and participants completed them in the internet browser using the same mobile device (Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e tablet). Details and questions of the main questionnaire can be found in Appendix B.

The sessions lasted about 15 minutes. After each session, participants were given a show-up fee and left the session. To ensure the credibility of the decision task, the draw was conducted via online video streaming a few days after the sessions. After the draw, the winners were paid, the money was donated to the environmental organisations selected by these participants, and proof of the donation was sent by email to all participants. The experimental procedure is summarised in Figure 1.

Stimuli

The mobile application Eco Animals was developed to our specifications by an external developer using the crossplatform game engine Unity. The application was installed on a Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e tablet running the Android operating system. The application illustrates the consequences of plastic pollution, presented in the AR format (see Figure 2). The visual content takes the form of the five animals most affected by plastic pollution: a sea turtle, a bird, a dolphin, a whale and a seal [START_REF] Gall | The impact of debris on marine life[END_REF]. The scenes were inspired by real-life situations and anecdotal evidence.

After opening the application, users immediately see the image from the device camera. As soon as the system understands the environment and recognises the flat surface, a white rectangle appears on the bottom. Upon clicking on it, an animated three-dimensional projection of a life-size animal being strangled with disposable plastic waste appears and merges with the real environment in real time. The projection is interactive -its appearance reacts to the movements of the tablet.

The simplified dashboard has a few buttons: arrows (to move to another animal), zoom (to zoom in or out of an animal) and a rotate function (to rotate an animal). Participants in the AR treatment were briefly instructed on how to use the application and then asked to freely interact with it for two minutes. The video demonstration is available on request.

Experimental Measures

Pre-questionnaire

• Environmental Engagement Score (EES). An environmental engagement score (Cronbach's 𝛼 = 0.71) was obtained from the pre-questionnaire. The scale was created by calculating the mean of four questions related to • Past donation experiences and organisational preferences. In the pre-questionnaire, we asked participants to indicate whether they had donated to an environmental organisation in the past, on a 5-point scale from "never" to "more than 10 times". We also asked participants which organisation they would donate money to if they had the opportunity. Participants were able to choose from 12 well-known environmental organisations that mainly deal with plastic pollution and other related issues. Before adding an organisation to the list, we checked whether they accepted online donations.

• Frequency of using related technologies. To assess familiarity and frequency of use of related technological devices and services, we ask participants in the pre-questionnaire to indicate how often they use these technologies on a 5-point scale from "never" to "every day": smartphone; video games; AR; social networks; AR filters on social networks.

• Other demographic variables. During the pre-questionnaire, participants were additionally asked to provide the following information: age; gender; education (last degree and field of study); pet ownership (whether they own a pet); vacation preferences (what would be the perfect vacation for them, between sea, forest/mountain, countryside, city or home); glasses (whether they wear glasses); dietary options (whether they are vegetarian).

Main Questionnaire

• Pro-environmental behaviour (Donations). We measured actual donations using an incentivized game. Each participant was endowed with €300 and made a decision on how much to donate to a pro-environmental organization chosen from a comprehensive list. Participants were informed that decisions made were actually implemented according to the results of a lottery. Lotteries and raffles are often used in experimental economics research and public goods fundraising [START_REF] Carpenter | Using raffles to fund public goods: Lessons from a field experiment[END_REF]. In particular, if a participant is randomly selected in the lottery, we implement his decision made in the donation game is implemented. Hence, the amount indicated in the game is donated to the organisation, while the remaining is given to the participant. Participants were given 10 donation levels, starting with €0 and ending with €300 (see answer options in Appendix B). Each participant had about a 1/30 chance of winning2 . The lottery results were announced publicly 1 week after the end of the experimental sessions.

• Psychological distance (PD). Following [START_REF] Spence | The psychological distance of climate change[END_REF], this measure combined four dimensions of psychological distance, namely: geographical distance, social distance, temporal distance and uncertainty. Geographical distance was assessed using two questions: One assessed the perception that plastic pollution affects one's local area; the other assessed the perception that plastic pollution affects distant areas. Social distance was also assessed with two questions: Participants were asked to rate whether plastic pollution was likely to affect mainly developing countries or people similar to them. Temporal distance was assessed with a single question asking participants when they think their country will feel the effects of plastic pollution. Uncertainty about plastic pollution was assessed with 5 questions about the perceived existence, severity, causes and effects of plastic pollution. The responses to the 7 items were combined into a single scale (Cronbach's 𝛼 = 0.56). The reliability of our composite measure increases when 2 items of the 7 considered are excluded (alpha = 0.6). 3 In our analyses, we use the latter measure, while the results of the former composite measure are used as robustness checks. The response options for all questions on psychological distance (with the exception of temporal distance) consisted of four-or five-point Likert scales. When necessary, responses were reversed so that higher scores represented a higher measure of psychological distance.

• Concern about plastic pollution. Following Spence et al. ( 2012), concern about plastic pollution was assessed using four similar questions: general concern about plastic pollution; concern about the personal impact of plastic pollution; concern about the impact of plastic pollution on society; and concern about the impact of plastic pollution on wildlife and animals. These four questions were combined to form a reliable scale of concern (Cronbach's 𝛼 = 0.76).

• Preparedness to act. We assessed participants' behavioural intentions to engage with the problem of plastic pollution through three questions about their consumption habits, recycling practises and policy support.

• AR treatment intensity. Only at the end of the AR treatment, we assess three other control measures in the main questionnaire: (1) Presence (we asked participants to rate on a 5-point scale (strongly agree -strongly disagree) how much they felt the presence of animals in the room); (2) Perceived AR effect (we asked participants to rate on a 5-point scale (strongly agree -strongly disagree) the extent to which the experience at AR brought them closer to the problem of plastic pollution; (3) Previous experience (we asked participants to indicate whether they had had similar AR experience in the past). The first two measures were later combined into one variable called treatment intensity.

Sample and procedures

We recruited a total of 86 students for the experiment from our university's web-based Online Recruitment System for Economic Experiments (ORSEE), who were randomly divided into the control group (29) and the AR treatment group (57). Table A in Appendix A provides the demographic characteristics of the sample. The experiment was conducted in the Laboratory of Experimental Economics of our university4 in the period from June to November 2021. Several assistants were trained for the protocol and assisted during a total of 86 individual sessions over five days. Participants were incentivized with a €7 show-up fee. The recruitment and experimental design were approved by the Ethical Committee of our university under protocol #2021-030. All participants signed an informed consent form prior to participation.

Results

The main questionnaire assessed internal psychological determinants of environmental engagement related to plastic pollution, namely: four dimensions of psychological distance, concern about plastic pollution, behavioural intention and actual behaviour (donation to an environmental organisation).

The effect of AR on PD

According to H1, we expect shorter psychological distance in our treatment condition relative to the control. Figure 3 depicts the distribution of PD between control and treatment condition. We report no statistical difference between conditions for this variable (Wilcoxon rank sum test, p=0.66). Results are also confirmed by regression models (Table 1, models 1-2). The indicator variable AR condition is not significant in any model specification. The inclusion of EES highlights a significant negative correlation between environmental engagement and psychological distance. Controlling for other measures, such as age, gender or past use of AR does not affect our results.

Despite the absence of significant differences in PD levels between conditions, we find evidence of heterogeneous effects within the AR treatment when considering individual perception of AR. in Table 1 regress PD on Treatment intensity, a self-reported measure of how AR scenes were perceived as realistic and brought closer to plastic pollution (see section 3.3.2). Across models, we include EES and its interaction with Treatment intensity, as well as demographics and past use of AR.

Results show no significant effect of Treatment intensity (model 3). Yet, the effect of this variable becomes significant when we account for individual controls (model 3) and its interaction with EES levels. Model 5 shows that for individuals that are not very environmentally engaged (low EES), a stronger intensity of AR scenes brought closer to the problem of plastic pollution (shorter PD). The opposite applies for highly engaged individuals (high EES). Results remain unchanged also when adding individual controls (model 6). Figure 4 depicts these results broken down by three categories of individuals with low (1), medium (2.5) and high levels of EES (5). Based on initial engagement with the environment, the experience of AR scenes may shorten or increase psychological distance.

Donation levels and mediation effect of PD

Following H2, we test whether AR has had an overall effect on donations in the Donation Game and whether and to what extent the effect is mediated by PD. Figure 5 shows the distribution of donations in the two experimental conditions. The average donation amount in the control group is slightly higher ( x𝐶 = 100) than in the AR Treatment ( x𝐴𝑅 = 93). However, this difference in donation level is not statistically significant (Wilcoxon rank sum test, p=0.92).

When assessing the impact of PD on donations, the regression model estimates show no statistical relationship between these variables (table 2, models 1-2). These results are not surprising considering that AR has no impact on PD, as explained in the previous section. As expected, individuals'self-reported environmental engagement (EES) has a positive effect on donations (models 2 and 4).

We additionally run a mediation analysis to jointly estimate the effect of AR on PD and, in turn, the mediated effect of PD on donations. 5 We run two analyses, one for the full sample and another for the AR sample only to account for the heterogeneous effect of Treatment intensity on PD. In all mediation models, we account for a set of controls previously included in our analyses, that is, demographics, past use of AR and EES. In both cases, we find no evidence of a mediating effect of PD on donations (Table 6). In particular, when using the whole sample, mediation analysis results show no effect of AR on PD, and hence absence of mediation (Indirect effect, b=-0.34, 𝑝 = 0.88). When considering the AR sample, we find mild evidence of the effect of Treatment Intensity on PD (Direct effect, b=30.24, 𝑝 = 0.08, Figure 6), consistently with section 4.1. Yet, there is no evidence in support of the mediation role of PD (Indirect effect, b=-3.03, 𝑝 = 0.42). Put together, our analyses report not enough evidence in support of a mediation role of PD. Furthermore, neither the presence of AR nor the intensity of the treatment perceived by participants in the experiment affects donations.

Self-reported measures of concern and preparedness to act

WWe examine the impact of AR intervention on self-reported measures of concern about plastic pollution and preparedness to act. Preparedness to act consists of three questions about participants' plastic consumption habits, recycling practises and policy support. While AR scenes may increase concern, overall we find no difference in participants' preparedness to act (Figure 7-A; Wilcoxon rank sum test, 𝑝 = 0.63). There are also no significant changes between conditions when looking at the individual items (Figure A in the Appendix; Wilcoxon rank sum test, all results insignificant).

Similarly, we find no overall change in individuals' preparedness to act (Figure 7-B, Wilcoxon rank sum test, 𝑝 = 0.13). Among the items composing our measure of preparedness, individuals' intention to support policy in favor of reducing plastic pollution slightly decreased upon AR interventions (Figure B in the Appendix; Wilcoxon rank sum test, 𝑝 = 0.03). All other items are statistically similar across conditions.

Study 2 (AR interventions 'in the field'): Results validation

The results of a qualitative study assessing the feedback on the design and performance of AR experiences indicated that the lack of visual fidelity could be a barrier to the effectiveness of AR interventions [START_REF] Buljat | Augmented reality for nudging green behavior: Design, evaluation and implementation[END_REF]. Participants stated that it was unusual for them to see sea animals on the floor of the classroom. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that the overall impression of a AR experience depends on its visual fidelity and the context in which AR intervention is experienced. To address this issue, we decided to switch from the context-free laboratory setting to a more natural context and repeat the experiment from Study 1 on the beach, where the AR experience might appear more natural and realistic. Therefore, in Study 2 we investigate whether the results observed in the AR treatment of Study 1 can be transferred to a more realistic context.6

Methods and Sample

The experiment was conducted at the natural beach of the small town at the south of France7 in late September 2022. The protocol was the same as the Study 1 conducted in the laboratory (see Figures F, G for the experimental setup).

The experiment lasted two full days. An experimenter and two protocol-trained assistants guided participants in 73 individual sessions. First, the participants came to the registration desk and signed a consent form. Then they sat down at the table and filled out a pre-questionnaire on a tablet. After completing the pre-questionnaire, they were asked to stand up and walk to a nearby sandy beach (15 m away) where the experimenter explained them how to use the AR application on a tablet and asked them to interact with it for 2 minutes. After the treatment, the participants sat down again at the same table where they filled in the main questionnaire. Before they left, we thanked them for participating and gave them the show-up fee.

We recruited a total of 73 subjects from the same population as in Study 1. Recruitment was done through our university's web-based online recruitment system (ORSEE) and we ensured that subjects had not previously participated in a similar experiment. See Table A in Appendix A for the demographic characteristics of the sample.

We collected the same independent and control variables as in the Study 1. The validity of our compound measures is comparable to our previous study (PD -Cronbach's 𝛼 = 0.45, EES -Cronbach's 𝛼 = 0.71).

Results

We first investigate whether PD levels in the field differ from those measured in the laboratory. Results from model 1 in Table 3 report no statistical difference between field and laboratory measures (𝑏 = 0.025, 𝑝 = 0.77). The association between 𝐸𝐸𝑆 and 𝑃 𝐷 remains negative as in Study 1. When using Treatment Intensity, results from model 2 show a negative association between Treatment Intensity and PD as seen in Study 1 (𝑏 = -0.883, 𝑝 = 0.002), and such an effect is heterogeneous depending on subjects' level of environmental concern (𝑏 = 0.228, 𝑝 = 0.005). These results hold even after the inclusion of our controls (model 3).

When passing on the analysis of Donation levels, we report no statistical difference between field and laboratory (𝑏 = -4.602, 𝑝 = 0.751, model 4). Similarly, Treatment Intensity has no effect on Donations (𝑏 = 10.471, 𝑝 = 0.309).

Overall, Study 2 replicates results seen in Study 1. 𝑃 𝐷 levels do not differ between laboratory and field environment under the presence of AR. When using Treatment Intensity as main predictor, we still find heterogeneous effect based on subjects' environmental engagement (EES). Donation levels do not differ across conditions and seem not to be affected by one's perception of AR.

Discussion and Concluding Remarks

In this paper, we conducted two experimental studies, namely a laboratory and a more contextualized or 'in the field' experiment, to test how short AR experience illustrating the consequences of plastic pollution affect pro-environmental behaviour (donating to an environmental organisation). We also investigated whether the same AR experience is able to influence some internal psychological factors that are important for environmental engagement, such as psychological distance, concern and behavioural intentions.

Although we expected that AR interventions, and especially those experienced in a realistic setting, would decrease psychological distance and increase pro-environmental behaviour, we observed this effect only in a small group of participants. The results suggest that although participants stated that our intervention brought them closer to the problem of plastic pollution (M 3,9/5), there is no "one size fits all" solution.

Communicating about environmental issues via AR is likely to have a heterogeneous effect depending on the personal characteristics of the individual: people who are already familiar with AR and already adopt sustainable practises (recycle waste, consume environmentally friendly products, etc.) may "backfire" to this type of intervention and, in turn, increase their psychological distance. In contrast, communicating via AR might work better for people with low environmental engagement and no previous experience with AR, as they are likely to decrease their psychological distance to an environmental threat after such an intervention. A similar observation was made in a recent study: In an online experiment, participants who had previously shown lower environmental attitudes indicated a stronger intention to change their future environmental behaviour after watching an environmentally friendly video, compared to those who had not been exposed to it [START_REF] Moore | Using eco-guilt to motivate environmental behavior change[END_REF].

There are several possible explanations for these results. First, we can conclude that a "scenario rejection" [START_REF] Fiore | Virtual experiments and environmental policy[END_REF] can occur when a virtual intervention does not match an observer's mental expectations. Indeed, our stimuli and context of use (seeing sea animals in the classroom) may not have been strong enough to influence all subjects, especially those already familiar with and regularly using the AR technology. The passive nature and questionable visual fidelity of the 3D models may have reduced the perception of the realism of the AR scenes. Secondly, there is a possibility that people with high environmental engagement may resist new technologies due to concerns about energy consumption (DataQuest, 2022). Finally, recent research highlights the need to consider the heterogeneity of target groups when applying insights from behavioural science [START_REF] Bryan | Behavioural science is unlikely to change the world without a heterogeneity revolution[END_REF]. Indeed, such behaviour change interventions, so-called nudges, can sometimes be counterproductive for certain groups. In such situations, it may be time to consider more targeted or personalised interventions [START_REF] Sunstein | The distributional effects of nudges[END_REF]. Moreover, we note that a decrease in PD does not necessarily lead to an increase in donations, at least in the case of plastic pollution. First, it could be that our PD scale [START_REF] Spence | The psychological distance of climate change[END_REF] is not entirely reliable for measuring psychological distance in this context (Cronbach's 𝛼 = 0.6). Secondly, it could also be that people do not trust environmental organisations and therefore, although they are concerned about the problem, they decide not to donate money. However, it seems that, as expected, those who report a high level of environmental engagement are also likely to donate more to environmental organisations.

Based on these findings, we suggest that AR interventions should be targeted at people with low environmental engagement and AR "newcomers" (people with no previous experience of AR). Influencing environmental engagement in other areas (recycling and consumption) may also have an impact on donation behaviour.

This research has some limitations, first of all the small sample. In addition, we did not take into account participants' risk preferences and opinions on the AR technology, which could explain the heterogeneous effects of the AR intervention. Therefore, in the future, we should add more observations for both AR and the control group and measure additional variables. Furthermore, this experiment only tests the effects of the AR experience on immediate behaviour. Future studies should examine the effects on long-term behaviour.

Also, the AR experience may have been too short and not interactive enough to make an impact. We should work on improving the AR experience, making it more engaging and longer. Since, according to our results, creating immersion and a sense of presence seems to be a promising way forward, environmental communicators could consider AR glasses, which certainly offer more immersive experiences than mobile AR. However, as this has not been empirically tested, we suggest comparing different types of AR hardware: Mobile AR and AR glasses.

Future steps should also include different behavioural interventions (e.g. recycling plastic waste), different samples (e.g. older population or youth) or different treatments (e.g. photo or video). However, when comparing AR with photo or video, there is a methodological challenge to overcome: Since each AR experience is unique and depends on the dynamics and movements of a user, it can be difficult to create a comparable screen capture.

One of the limitations of our experimental design is also the short time span between the treatment and the measurement of the behaviour. This is because environmental behaviour is complex and it may be unrealistic to expect it to change after a 2-minute intervention. Further studies should include longitudinal trials with more than one behavioural intervention.

However, the results of this investigation can serve as a basis for future studies measuring the effects of AR on pro-environmental behaviour, which could be useful in a similar context (e.g. by simulating future or distant events to reduce psychological distance and induce behavioural change).

This research makes an important contribution to academic research and practice. This was the first attempt to measure the effects of AR simulations on pro-environmental attitudes and behaviours, so these results pave the way for further research. We assume that if we are able to achieve a high level of presence with AR experiences in a laboratory, this could be a way to bridge the methodological gap between laboratory and field experiments by providing natural cues in context-free laboratory settings.

In addition, this contribution can serve as a guide for environmental policy makers and communicators using AR in their pro-environment campaigns. For example, a non-profit organisation can set up a spatial AR screen on the beach to warn about the harmful consequences of improper waste disposal, and policy makers can run a targeted AR campaign on social media to facilitate policy implementation. We believe that these findings are also applicable to other similar AR interventions aimed at changing behaviour and warning about consequences that are usually "out of sight".

Figure 1 :

 1 Figure 1: Experimental procedure

Figure 2 :

 2 Figure 2: Examples of stimuli in the AR treatment

Figure 3 :

 3 Figure 3: Distribution of Psychological Distance scores across conditions.

Figure 5 :

 5 Figure 5: Donation levels by experimental condition.

Figure 6 :

 6 Figure 6: Mediation analysis results: a) for the whole sample; b) for the AR sample only. In the whole sample, AR is a dummy variable indicating the experimental condition. Treatment intensity is a continuous variable (see section 3.2.2)

Figure 7 :

 7 Figure 7: Distribution of A -preparedness to act, B -Concern for plastic pollution.

Figure A :

 A Figure A: Distribution of items composing Preparedness to act.

Figure D :

 D Figure D: Screenshot of pre-questionnaire page.

Figure E :

 E Figure E: Screenshot of donation game page.

Table 2

 2 OLS regression models of Donations.

			Dependent variable: Donations
		Full sample	AR sample
		(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)
	PD	-10.384	4.382	2.999	26.542
		(16.289)	(17.604)	(18.385)	(19.577)
	EES		26.545 * *		22.854
			(12.500)		(15.098)
	Age		0.079		0.254
			(1.621)		(1.587)
	Gender		-8.640		-21.969
			(21.128)		(25.881)
	Use AR		-12.601		-34.446 * *
			(10.084)		(14.242)
	Study level		-19.464		-30.829 *
			(13.689)		(16.136)
	Use smartphone		-29.318		-25.432
			(84.155)		(79.691)
	Use video games		6.688		9.162
			(8.898)		(10.899)
	Use AR filters		-6.851		-1.249
			(7.329)		(8.244)
	Donated before		-0.534		0.567
			(11.513)		(13.076)
	Constant	113.551 * * *	242.365	87.655 * *	259.661
		(29.814)	(427.610)	(34.170)	(413.827)
	Observations	86	86	57	57
	R 2	0.005	0.136	0.0005	0.245
	Adjusted R 2	-0.007	0.021	-0.018	0.080
	Residual Std. Error	79.539 (df = 84)	78.430 (df = 75)	75.923 (df = 55)	72.177 (df = 46)
	F Statistic	0.406 (df = 1; 84)	1.181 (df = 10; 75)	0.027 (df = 1; 55)	1.489 (df = 10; 46)
	Note:

* p<0.1; * * p<0.05; * * * p<0.01

Table 3

 3 OLS regression models of PD and Donations using data from Study 1 (AR treatment) and Study 2 (AR in the field).

				Dependent variable:
			PD		Donations
		(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)
	Field	0.025			-4.602
		(0.085)			(14.464)
	Treatment Intensity		-0.883 * * *	-0.899 * * *		10.471
			(0.287)	(0.286)		(10.245)
	PD				-15.311	-13.039
					(15.614)	(15.724)
	EES	-0.302 * * *	-0.904 * * *	-0.930 * * *	31.393 * * *	29.580 * * *
		(0.058)	(0.233)	(0.234)	(10.888)	(10.900)
	Age	-0.001		-0.001	3.180 * * *	3.179 * * *
		(0.006)		(0.006)	(0.994)	(0.978)
	Male	-0.061		-0.027	13.252	12.299
		(0.104)		(0.101)	(17.806)	(17.717)
	Use AR	0.119 * *		0.126 * *	-5.846	-7.371
		(0.059)		(0.057)	(10.145)	(10.213)
	Study levels	-0.022		-0.007	-13.489	-12.294
		(0.059)		(0.055)	(10.006)	(9.707)
	Use smartphone	-0.915 * * *		-0.878 * * *	-20.635	-25.140
		(0.334)		(0.323)	(58.577)	(58.511)
	Use video games	0.015		-0.006	1.460	2.675
		(0.044)		(0.043)	(7.529)	(7.565)
	Use AR filters	-0.045		-0.044	-11.571 *	-12.343 *
		(0.037)		(0.036)	(6.401)	(6.424)
	Donated before	0.034		0.026	-0.527	-1.487
		(0.050)		(0.048)	(8.535)	(8.480)
	Treatment Intensity * EES		0.228 * * *	0.233 * * *
			(0.081)	(0.082)
	Constant	7.267 * * *	5.143 * * *	9.545 * * *	132.924	115.989
		(1.714)	(0.808)	(1.824)	(313.289)	(309.818)
	Observations	130	130	130	130	130
	R 2	0.275	0.255	0.337	0.296	0.302
	Adjusted R 2	0.214	0.238	0.275	0.231	0.237
	Residual Std. Error	0.456 (df = 119)	0.449 (df = 126)	0.438 (df = 118)	77.727 (df = 118)	77.418 (df = 118)
	F Statistic	4.516 * * * (df = 10; 119)	14.401 * * * (df = 3; 126)	5.446 * * * (df = 11; 118)	4.521 * * * (df = 11; 118)	4.643 * * * (df = 11; 118)
	Note:

* p<0.1; * * p<0.05; * * * p<0.01

Three lotteries were conducted: one for the control treatment and two more for the AR treatment.

These items are uncertainty about the causes of and distance from pollution in developing countries

The name of the laboratory and its location have been removed to preserve anonymity

We used the package mediator available from CRAN.

This study was pre-registered at https://aspredicted.org/X16_Z86

The exact location of the beach has been removed to preserve anonymity.First Author et al.: Preprint submitted to Elsevier

⋆ This document is the result of the research project funded by the French Research Agency (ANR) -Project Title: Green Innovation: Creativity, Risk and Social context (GrICRiS). Study 2 has benefited from the ADD THE NAME project funded by ADD information

Chaque année, des millions de tonnes de plastique sont déversées dans les océans. Si aucune action n'est entreprise, l'impact des plastiques sur nos écosystèmes, notre santé et nos économies va être de plus en plus préoccupant. Nous devons prendre toute la dimension du problème en stoppant en amont la production de plastiques et en nettoyant nos océans des déchets plastiques non dégradables. Votre don nous aidera à agir pour une planète débarrassée de la pollution par les plastiques. English translation: Every year, millions of tons of plastic are dumped into the oceans. If no action is taken, the impact of plastics on our ecosystems, our health and our economies will become increasingly serious. We need to address the full scope of the problem by stopping the production of plastics in the first place and cleaning our oceans of non-degradable plastic waste. Your donation will help us take action for a planet free of plastic pollution.

Table C Main questionnaire

Variable Questions Answer options

Geographic distance (PD geographical local and PD geographical distant)

My local area is likely to be affected by pollution 5-points scale (Strongly agree -Strongly disagree) Plastic pollution will mainly affect areas far from here.

5-points scale (Strongly agree -Strongly disagree)

Social distance (PD social devcountries and PD social lookalike people) Plastic pollution will mainly affect developing countries 5-points scale (Strongly agree -Strongly disagree)

Plastic pollution is likely to have a big impact on people like me.

5-points scale (Strongly agree -Strongly disagree)

Temporal distance (PD temporal) When, if at all, do you think France will start to feel the effects of plastic pollution?

7-points scale (Never -We are already feeling the effects)

Uncertainty/scepticism (PD uncertainty cause) Plastic pollution is a completely natural process and is not caused by human activities.

5-points scale (Strongly agree -Strongly disagree -I think there is no such thing) I'm uncertain that plastic pollution is really happening.

5-points scale (Strongly agree -Strongly disagree)

The seriousness of plastic pollution is exaggerated.


Les abîmes de l'âme de Pascal à Amiel

« Je suis bien pour moi-même, écrit Amiel le 5 novembre 1877, le monstre incompréhensible de Pascal » 1 . On a pu opposer à l'idéal rousseauiste de transparence du moi et de révélation totale de son être intime les abîmes romantiques de la conscience, impénétrable à l'analyse rationnelle. Mais le désarroi de l'homme face à ses gouffres intérieurs, la conscience d'un mystère inaccessible à la raison et d'une obscurité irréductible de l'être humain n'est pas propre au romantisme. Elle s'enracine dans la représentation des profondeurs troubles de l'âme humaine que les augustiniens rattachent à la présence en l'homme déchu de concupiscences inavouées et d'inextricables « contrariétés ». Le moi échappe ainsi à qui tente de le saisir comme le Dieu caché se dérobe à la raison. C'est ainsi en particulier dans les Pensées qu'Amiel puise sa représentation de l'homme comme oxymore, chimère, énigme, comme manque ontologique, séparé de Dieu comme de lui-même, égaré « dans des obscurités impénétrables » 2 . De fait Amiel n'a cessé de lire et relire Pascal, qu'il cite parmi ses « auteurs favoris » 3 . Il lit les Pensées en 1852 dans l'édition Faugère 4 , puis en mai 1866 5 , et de nouveau en novembre 1867 6 . En 1849, il lit les Etudes sur Blaise Pascal de Vinet, qu'il évoque avec admiration 7 : pour Amiel comme pour Vinet, Pascal représente le modèle d'un « style parfaitement et exclusivement vrai » 8 : il incarne la sincérité à laquelle il aspire -une sincérité définie comme adéquation de la parole et du sentiment et comme fusion de l'homme et de l'écrivain. C'est pourquoi il évoque Pascal parmi les « mélancoliques » : c'est avant tout une expérience humaine qu'il recherche dans les Pensées, celle de l'homme confronté à ses propres abîmes.

1 Amiel citait déjà la formule pascalienne quelques mois plus tôt, le 17 juillet 1877. L'expression « monstre incompréhensible » du fragment 163 dans l'édition Philippe Sellier (S 163). Le Journal intime d'Amiel, rédigé de 1839 à 1881, a été publié chez l'Age d'Homme en 12 volumes entre 1976 et 1994. Nous citons ici le Journal par date. 2 S 681 3 11 août 1849 4 2 mai 1852 5 23 mai 1866 6 7 novembre 1867 7 18 février 1849 8 4 septembre 1850

Comme celle de l'homme sans Dieu « égaré dans ce recoin de l'univers » 9 , l'expérience première d'Amiel est celle de l'effroi face à l'infini de l'espace et à l'infini du temps, de la stupeur face à « l'altérité radicale » 10 du monde. Le diaristeest hanté par la verticalité, le vertige, la chute comme en témoignent les métaphores du « précipice », de l'« abîme », du « gouffre » 11 . Comme chez Pascal, l'humanité est vouée à l'abandon, à la déréliction : le « désespoir de l'abandon » 12 , qui revêt chez Amiel une dimension métaphysique, rejoint le « délaissement » pascalien, le deserendo augustinien, celui de l'être abandonné « dans une île déserte et effroyable » 13 , semblable au moi du diariste qui éprouve la « sensation de naufragé, qui ne voit plus que deux ou trois écueils audessus de la mer où se sont engloutis ses compagnons et ses richesses » 14 . La « lumière s'est éteinte » 15 : l'homme déchu, nous dit Pascal, est égaré dans des « ténèbres impénétrables » 16 . « Sans lumière » 17 , l'homme sans Dieu ne trouve « qu'obscurité et ténèbres » 18 , « obscurité et confusion » 19 . Chez Amiel, la déréliction prend aussi la forme d'obscures ténèbres, de la perte de tout repère dans « l'horreur de la nuit » 20 : « On sent venir l'aridité infinie, la désolation morne, la grande nuit. Ni but, ni appui, ni secours ; rien que les sables et l'immensité, le vertige et l'abandon » 21 . Les solitaires en particulier sont présentés comme des êtres déracinés, privés de toute assise comme de tout soutien, « déracinés comme des algues flottantes, dans ce courant infatigable » 22 . On peut entendre dans cette errance l'écho des Pensées : « nous voguons sur un milieu vaste, toujours incertains et flottants » 23 . L'homme est en proie au malheur de ne pouvoir trouver sa place, « son vrai lieu » 24 . Il est un « être de vertige » 25 qui aspire à une Il y a ainsi, au fond du coeur, une forme de conscience confuse : Dieu a voulu « rendre notre être inintelligible à nous-mêmes » 66 . Le diariste qui jour après jour, sonde le fond de son âme se heurte à son « fonds ténébreux » 67 , à sa propre énigme : « nous sommes les esclaves des puissances ténébreuses de notre être » 68 . Cette conscience de l'opacité du moi, que l'on retrouve tout au long du Journal, prend sa source dans un héritage augustinien : seul objet qui soit digne de connaissance, l'homme demeure cependant un mystère à lui-même, tant il est difficile de se connaître ; ce « moimême » qui est ce qu'il y a « de plus proche de moi » nous échappe 69 . Les moralistes euxmêmes, explorant les « terres inconnues » 70 de l'expérience intérieure, ne font qu'approfondir le mystère à mesure qu'ils l'éclaircissent 71 . Un fond obscur nous échappe et jamais on ne connaît le « fond de coeur », le motif secret de nos actions : l'homme, affirme Pascal, reste pour lui-même le « mystère le plus incompréhensible de tous » 72 ; je suis pour moi-même, écrit Amiel, une « inextricable énigme » 73 . La compréhension de soi demeure l'objet d'un constant désabusement : « nous souhaitons la vérité et ne trouvons en nous qu'incertitude » 74 . Il y a donc dans l'introspection une forme de tragique « que Dieu seul peut dénouer » 75 -ou la mort 76 . L'homme est égaré non seulement dans les ténèbres d'un univers infini mais aussi dans ses propres ténèbres 77 , dans ce qui constitue son intimité la plus profonde, devenue comme 66 S 164 67 27 octobre 1856 68 8 septembre 1866 69 Confessions, X, Paris, GF, p.118 ; voir aussi sur ce point Arnaud Tripet, Pétrarque ou la connaissance de soi, Paris, Champion, 2004, p.59. 70 Maxime 3 de La Rochefoucauld : « Quelque découverte que l'on ait fait dans le pays de l'amour-propre, il y reste encore des terres inconnues » 71 cf Corrado Rosso, « Il messagio dei moralisti francesi », in Inventari e postille. Litterature francesi, divagazioni europee, Pisa, Goliardica, 1974, p.97 72 S 164 73 5 octobre 1869 74 S 20 75 cf Jean Rousset, « Monologue et soliloque » in Ideen und Formen, Festschrift fur Hugo Friedrich, p.210 76 Aux yeux de Malebranche, l'âme ne se connaîtra qu'après la mort : « jusqu'à ces temps heureux, l'âme sera toujours inintelligible à elle-même. Elle ne sentira en elle que des modalités ténébreuses », XIXe éclaircissement, in OEuvres I, Paris, « Pléiade », 1979, p.983. 77 Cf aussi Malebranche Recherche de la Vérité, Xe éclaircissement, éd.cit., p.922 : « Nous ne sommes que ténèbres à nous-mêmes. Il faut que nous regardions hors de nous pour nous voir » étrangère à lui-même : « Je ne sais qui m'a mis au monde, ni ce que c'est que le monde, ni que moi-même. Je suis dans une ignorance terrible de toutes choses » 78 . « Et je le contredis toujours/ jusqu'à ce qu'il comprenne / Qu'il est un monstre incompréhensible » 79 : la tentative de compréhension de soi constitue, comme le suggère la contradiction logique, une expérience de la limite du pensable, où la pensée se heurte à sa source même. L'esprit ne saurait se réfléchir lui-même sans engendrer une série de paradoxes : « Je ne sais ce que c'est que mon corps, que mes sens, que mon

  redescendant jusqu'à l'abîme vide ». Dans cette « psychologie des profondeurs » 38 , il rejoint la représentation augustinienne du gouffre abyssal présent au coeur de l'hommeabyssus humanae conscientiae39 . L'intériorité est alors décrite non plus sous la forme du temple, mais comme un gouffre vertigineux, « fond sans fond » 40 . L'intériorité du diariste rappelle les abîmes vertigineux qui hantent l'imaginaire pascalien. Il y a en chacun un « gouffre infini » 41 , un « gouffre béant » dont l'immensité est proportionnelle à l'insatiabilité de nos désirs et des aspirations de notre « âme inassouvie » 42 . L'homme, écrit Amiel le 25 mars 1869, est « né pour l'aspiration et pour la souffrance, à moins que Dieu ne comble le gouffre qu'il a creusé lui-même dans notre âme ». Ici encore il paraphrase les Pensées : Qu'est-ce donc que nous crie cette avidité et cette impuissance, sinon qu'il y a eu autrefois dans l'homme un véritable bonheur, dont il ne reste maintenant que la marque et la trace toute vide, et qu'il essaie inutilement de remplir de tout ce qui , « De l'anthropologie des moralistes classiques », XVIIe xiècle, n°202, n°1-1999, pp.75-88 39 Saint Augustin, Confessions, X, 2 40 Voir Benedetta Papasogli, Le fond du coeur. Figures de l'espace intérieur au XVIIe siècle, Paris, Champion, 2000, p.55. 41 S 181 42 16 avril 1872l'environne, recherchant des choses absentes le secours qu'il n'obtient pas des présentes, mais qui en sont toutes incapables, parce que ce gouffre infini ne peut être rempli que par un objet infini et immuable, c'est-à-dire que par Dieu même. 43 Suit chez Amiel un développement du fecisti nos ad te : « Pourquoi donc es-tu agité, troublé, inquiet ? parce que tu es né pour les choses éternelles et que tu manques à ta vocation ; parce que tu es fait pour Dieu et que tu ne vis pas en Dieu » 44 . Il y a en l'homme un vide, une béance que rien ne saurait combler sinon l'infini. L'homme est un « roi dépossédé » 45 , « un souverain découronné qui regarde l'histoire de son ancien royaume » 46 . Mais faute de trouver l'infini auquel il se destine, l'homme sans Dieu tente de remplir l'abîme par des objets sans cesse renouvelés, et qui sans cesse le déçoivent. Le gouffre devient alors celui de l'inassouvissement permanent du désir insatiable auquel seule pourrait répondre l'infinité divine. Les Romantiques enracineront le « vague des passions » dans cette représentation du néant intérieur, de la vacuitas logée au coeur de l'homme et dont la manifestation serait la soif inextinguible de l'âme, la « famine d'infini » 47 . « Insatiablement avide / De l'obscur et de l'incertain » 48 , l'homme aspire à l'absolu qu'aucun objet terrestre ne saurait combler. Cette idée est reprise comme un leitmotiv dans le Journal qui évoque « le gouffre béant de mon âme inassouvie » 49 , le « gouffre de mon désir » que « jamais la destinée ne comblera » 50 , le « gouffre du coeur », le « besoin inassouvi de notre être » 51 , et cet abîme qui ne peut être comblé par quoi que ce soit qui ne soit pas « aussi grand que l'abîme » 52 . De ce renouvellement indéfini de l'aspiration déçue résulte alors chez Amiel une poétique de la répétition qui est celle du journal, scandant inlassablement, à l'instar de la litanie pascalienne, les désillusions d'un être qui « sent alors son néant, son abandon, son 43 S 181 44 25 mars 69 45 S 148 46 25 septembe 1861 47 Amiel 23 mars 1866 48 Baudelaire, « Horreur sympathique », Les Fleurs du Mal, LXXXIV 49 18 mars 1872 50 16 avril 1872 51 23 mars 1866 52 ibid insuffisance, sa dépendance, son impuissance, son vide » 53 , d'un être confronté à une « vie qui trompe perpétuellement tous nos voeux, qui bafoue toutes nos aspirations ? » 54 . Mais comme chez Pascal, ces profondeurs abyssales de l'âme sont ambivalentes : elles représentent à la fois les abîmes de la concupiscence, de la noirceur de l'homme et cette vacuitas qui fait que l'homme est capable de Dieu, ce désir infini laissé en nous « pour nous faire sentir d'où nous sommes tombés » 55 . L'espace intérieur est à la fois l'abîme du péché, le puits bourbeux de nos désirs déréglés et le lieu de la « nostalgie invincible de Dieu » 56 . Cette duplicité de l'homme fait de son intériorité un chaos, un noeud inextricable, une « confusion monstrueuse » 57 . L'homme qui se penche sur luimême découvre un puits profond, des ténèbres glacées, des eaux bourbeuses 58 . « Le coeur de l'homme, écrit Pascal, est creux et plein d'ordure » 59 , il est semblable à de la « fange » : « la maladie morale de l'homme le rappelle à la fange » 60 . Il y a en nous un « vilain fond », un figmentum malum 61 ; il y a dans nos bas-fonds un « cloaque d'incertitudes et d'erreurs », telles ces « eaux mortes et mortelles » que Maurice de Guérin sentait au fond de lui 62 . Ces bas-fonds de l'âme sont le lieu de la souillure : « Dans les bas-fonds de l'existence grouillent les laideurs, les vermines, les monstres » 63 . De cette caverne émergent, comme autant de démons, les affres de l'ennui : « Incontinent, il sortira de son âme l'ennui, la noirceur, la tristesse, le chagrin, le dépit, le désespoir » 64 . C'est cette même déclinaison de la mélancolie en une liste monotone et accablante que reprend Amiel : « Il y a là (dans l'arrière-fond de ma conscience) des mécontentements, des hontes, des tristesses que je n'ose pas même remuer. Il y a des doutes, des détresses, des effrois, confus et indicibles » 65

  âme ; et cette partie même de moi qui pense ce que je dis, et qui fait réflexion sur tout et sur elle-même, ne se connaît pas non plus que le reste » 80 . L'énigme qui se loge en son propre coeur conduit alors l'homme jusqu'aux confins du langage. « Je n'ai point de termes, écrit Pascal, pour qualifier une si extravagante créature » 81 : l'énoncé métalinguistique est en quelque sorte annulé par son énonciation même 82 , la contradiction du propos venant redoubler les « contrariétés » qui constituent le fond de l'homme sans Dieu. On retrouve chez Amiel le même énoncé paradoxal pour dire l'indicible de son propre moi : « Je ne suis qu'un (…) je ne sais quoi de chaotique et d'indéchiffrable qui n'a de nom dans aucune langue » 83 . Et c'est alors qu'Amiel évoque une fois encore le « monstre incompréhensible » de Pascal, rejoignant bien par divers chemins le propos pascalien, mais aussi la thématique récurrente de François de Sales à Malebranche du fond imperceptible de l'être, de l'extrême mobilité et complexité de l'âme humaine 84 .Les contradictions de la formulation viennent redoubler la contradiction inhérente à l'homme qui est un paradoxe à lui-même, un « sujet de contradiction » toujours tiraillé par des instincts contraires, une « confusion monstrueuse » 85 .

ajoutent les abîmes du temps : « L'humanité tout entière n'est qu'un éclair dans la durée de la planète (…). L'individu est l'infinitésimale du néant » 30 . La vie n'est qu'une « ombre qui ne dure qu'un instant sans retour » 31 . Les notations

  ferme mais se trouve confronté à l'instabilité de tout fondement : « notre fondement craque et la terre s'ouvre jusqu'aux abîmes » 26 .Lorsque, le 4 avril 1866, Amiel contemple le lever du soleil sur les montagnes suisses et observe de loin les moyens de locomotion modernes qui raccourcissent les distances d'un village à l'autre, le progrès technique le renvoie non à la perfectibilité Amiel est hanté par le « mouvement perpétuel » 34 , l'écoulement de toute chose, l'évanescence du monde, l'inconstance de l'être. Et non seulement il rejoint la conviction augustinienne que tout glisse, tout s'efface, que le temps « fuit d'une fuite Mais l'abîme auquel l'humanité est confrontée n'est pas seulement celui de l'espace infini et du temps éternel. L'abîme se situe également au coeur de l'homme. « Je viens, écrit Amiel le 12 juillet 1854, de plonger dans les gouffres intérieurs,

	moi des Pensées, éternelle » 35 , mais il affirme à de nombreuses reprises ressentir jusque dans les
	moindres fibres de son être les minutes qui tombent goutte à goutte « dans le gouffre
	dévorant de l'éternité » 36 -et le Journal n'est-il pas la tentative désespérée de répondre humaine mais à sa vanité. Il paraphrase alors en un long développement le fragment à cette inéluctable caducité des choses et des êtres et à l'expérience terrifiante de Disproportion de l'homme 27 , le fragment « Roseau pensant » 28 et le « fragment d'un écrit sur la conversion : « sentir s'écouler tout ce qu'on possède » 37 ?
	En présence de l'immensité, nos ambitions sont niaises, nous sommes des
	vermisseaux et des éphémères (…). En revanche, ce nain (…) s'assujettit par la
	pensée l'espace et le temps, réalise des choses colossales et maîtrise les éléments
	et les forces de cette même planète, pour laquelle il n'est qu'un point
	imperceptible. En d'autres termes, la faiblesse et la force de l'homme ; sa misère et
	sa grandeur ; son néant physique et sa majesté spirituelle se trouvent à la fois
	contenus dans ce symbole. « L'homme est un roseau, le plus faible de la nature,
	c'est un roseau pensant ». -Pourtant, l'impression qui l'emporte à la montagne,
	c'est celle de la dépendance absolue de ce nain orgueilleux. On aperçoit mille
	manières dont la nature peut retirer l'être à cette race de cirons (…), cet
	infiniment petit qui s'appelle l'homme 29 .
	9 S 229 10 Duclos Alexandre, « L'inquiétude dans les Pensées de Pascal », Revue de métaphysique et de morale, 2/2013 (N° 78), p. 167-184. A ces abîmes de l'espace s'désabusées d'Amiel apparaissent souvent comme autant de variations autour du vanitas
	11 voir Philippe Sellier, Essais sur l'imaginaire classique, Champion, 2003, p.129 12 23 avril 1872 vanitatum, de la « désillusion de tous les rêves » 32 , de la fragilité et de la fugacité de
	13 S 229 14 22 juillet 1878 l'existence, de la précarité d'un monde où « tout est illusoire et périssable » 33 . Comme le
	15 S 644
	16 S 19
	17 S 229 25 Philippe Sellier, introduction aux Pensées de Pascal, Paris, Garnier, 1991, p.41
	18 S 644 26 S 230
	19 S 36 27 S 230
	20 S 749 28 S 145
	21 28 mai 1868 ; « Tu flottes au hasard, écrit encore Amiel, n'attendant que des peines qui 29 4 avril 1866
	s'accroîtront » (23 avril 1872). 30 12 septembre 1870
	22 24 janvier 1865 31 S 681
	23 S 230 32 10 avril 1872
	24 S 19 33 23 avril 1872

assiette

  » 86 . Le péché originel, incompréhensible à la raison, rend seul compréhensible ce monstre incompréhensible qu'est l'homme. En effet le constat anthropologique est lié chez Pascal à la doctrine de la Chute. La thématique de l'inconnaissable logé au fond du coeur s'enracine dans l'idée du Dieu caché : l'homme est aussi impénétrable à lui-même que l'est Dieu à la raison. Le secret de l'âme est à l'image de « cet étrange secret dans lequel Dieu s'est retiré, impénétrable à la vue des hommes » 87 . L'intériorité habitée par le péché est un espace divisé, le lieu de la lutte permanente de forces contradictoires88 .Si l'homme est une confusion monstrueuse, c'est qu'il est tiraillé par une « guerre intestine » entre « la raison et les passions » 89 , « déchiré » par la lutte entre le vice et la grâce90 . Comme l'a montré Philippe Sellier, Pascal a emprunté aux Confessions la métaphore du chaos appliquée à l'âme humaine 91 . Ce chaos rend l'homme irreprésentable 92 . Il ne semble ne pouvoir se dire que sur le mode de l'exclamation S 164 87 La nature elle-même est devenue un secret impénétrable : « La fin des choses et leur principe sont pour lui invinciblement cachés dans un secret impénétrable ». Voir Hélène Michon, L'ordre du coeur. Philosophie, théologie et mystique dans les Pensées dePascal, Champion, 1996, p.65. Hélas ! Tu ne sais pas même ce que tu veux, bien moins encore ce que tu es 94 .Le diariste tourmenté par les revirements permanents d'un moi instable reprend l'idée d'une « guerre intestine » qui ronge l'homme tissé de contradictions : « contradiction entre mes penchants, querelle et guerre en moi de tous côtés » 95 . Amiel retrouve alors la notion pascalienne de « disproportion » de l'homme lorsqu'il évoque la « disproportion scandalisante entre l'idéal qui est en nous et ce qu'il peut s'en réaliser pour nous » 96 ou encore la « disproportion entre l'esprit et la volonté 97 . La tension entre les aspects contradictoires de l'être conduit inexorablement à l'ennui. Amiel paraphrase de nouveau Pascal lorsqu'il évoque l'ennui sous la forme d'un gouffre où viennent s'entasser désirs inassouvis et illusions perdues : Le coeur loge cette antinomie étrange : soif du toujours, aversion du toujours. Il hait et il adore l'inconstance ; il maudit et il implore le changement. Il veut et il ne veut pas. Monstre incompréhensible ! disait Pascal ( …). Tout finit par ennuyer. misère sans celle de Dieu fait le désespoir » 99 . Le risque est de sombrer dans une profonde désespérance ; mais c'est aussi de tirer vanité de cette connaissance, en faisant de la mise en lumière de la vanité une nouvelle forme de vanité: « Ou il cache ses misères, ou s'il les découvre il se glorifie de les connaître » 100 . La vanité : de Pascal à La Rochefoucauld », Littératures classiques, 56, 2005, pp.267-278 : « . La connaissance de soi sans visée de l'infini, n'est jamais, en elle-même, salvatrice ». à la réflexivité, les « réflexions sur nos propres pensées » étant à ses yeux « plus mauvaises que les pensées mêmes » 101 . L'absence de transparence dans la relation à soi implique en effet une défiance perpétuelle envers le témoignage de la conscience qui peut être le jouet des passions ou de l'amour-propre. Cette idée que développera Malebranche 102 est reprise par Amiel qui dénonce ses propres tours et détours, sa propre « tortuosité » : « Misérable coeur humain, la vanité se glisse dans tes mouvements les plus purs » 103 . Vouloir aller trop loin dans la connaissance de l'âme, vouloir sonder les abîmes de sa conscience, c'est aussi entrer dans un processus destructeur : Le besoin de connaître retourné sur le moi est puni, comme la curiosité de Pysché, par la fuite de la chose aimée…Nous sommes et devons être obscurs pour nous-mêmes, disait Goethe (…) Par l'analyse, je me suis annulé (…) 104 . Car se contempler, c'est aussi désespérer : « si tu connaissais tes péchés, tu perdrais coeur » 105 . Amiel ressasse alors ses tourments et ses scrupules en ce qui s'apparente à une forme d'oraison mentale pénitentielle, à un « besoin expiatoire de trouver l'occasion d'un repentir infiniment modulé », selon la formule que Christian Belin applique à la tradition méditative augustinienne. 106 L'espace intérieur devient un spatium poenitentiae, espace clos d'une complaisance morbide dans les tourments de la conscience. Amiel rejoint ainsi ce que Henri Gouhier qualifiait au sujet de Pascal d'« auto-abomination permanente » 107 face à un moi livré à la concupiscence, un « moi haïssable » : : « nous sommes pleins de mal, affirme Pascal donc nous devons nous haïr nous-mêmes et tout ce qui nous excite à une autre attache qu'à Dieu seul » 108 ; « mon coeur, écrit Amiel, est désespérément mauvais » 109 . L'homme conscient de sa souillure originelle se présente comme « odieux » face à Dieu 110 . Le tourment intérieur de l'homme sans Dieu conduit à un désespoir mêlé d'une haine de soi : « Contradiction, mépris de notre être, mourir pour rien, haine de notre être » 111 . Chez Amiel, on retrouve cette « honte d'être » qui envahit la conscience 112 . Cette forme de haine de soi finit chez Amiel par remettre en cause les fondements même de l'écriture diariste : non seulement le moi se morfond dans une auto-culpabilisation permanente, mais il fait aussi de l'expression littéraire de cette culpabilité un maléfique envoûtement. L'attention portée au moi dans le Journal vient dès lors redoubler sa vanité et son orgueil. Ainsi Amiel cite Pascal -« le moi et haïssable » -lorsqu'il évoque la poésie lyrique, intime et personnelle de son ami Berthe : la haine de soi, qui est au fondement de la mélancolie de ce « genre plaintif, méditatif, dubitatif, contemplatif » qu'est la littérature personnelle, devient ellemême haïssable. Faut-il donc haïr sa propre haine, et se taire ? Le Journal d'Amiel multiplie ces renversements permanents qui forment un « cercle fatal » où l'auteur se plaint de ses atermoiements, exprime le regret de ses fautes puis la culpabilité face au ses ténèbres impénétrables, le point nodal qui nous fait toucher du doigt le mystère fondamental de notre condition. « Nous n'avons conscience, écrit Amiel le 12 juin 1865, que de la moindre partie de notre être ». Nous demeurons une énigme à nous-mêmes, mais ce qui est énigme pour la raison ouvre la porte de terres inconnues, de « régions insondées, et peut-être insondables » 114 . Le pessimisme pascalien plongeait « dans les 110 « Tout ce que je suis vous est odieux » (Prière pour demander à Dieu le bon usage des maladies, X in Laurence Plazenet, Port-Royal, Paris, Flammarion, 2012) 111 S156 112 voir Alain Girard, Le Journal intime, 1953, p.458 113 12 décembre 1869 114 20 avril 1852 profondeurs troubles de l'irrationnel et de l'inconscient » 115 . Amiel reconnaît dans cette part obscure de nous-mêmes une fonction essentielle dans l'organisation de la vie intérieure. Il explore la vie inconsciente de l'être, les profondeurs du rêve perçu comme « une demi-délivrance de la prison humaine » 116 , une sortie du « cachot » 117 . « On se regarde soi-même, écrit Amiel, avec stupeur, comme un insondable abîme » 118 : le diariste se confronte à soi avec une stupeur constamment renouvelée qui implique une éternelle répétition d'une même incompréhension. A la mise en forme autobiographique d'un moi qui prend forme et sens dans un temps orienté vers un certaine découverte de soi, vers une conversion à son moi profond, le temps du journal oppose une exploration sans cesse approfondie et sans cesse déçue. Le repli sur soi d'un auteur qui est à lui-même son propre destinataire s'explique sans doute par cette conscience d'une part incommunicable car insondable, profondément mystérieuse : Le plus précieux de nous-mêmes ne se montre jamais (…) n'arrive certainement qu'en partie à notre conscience (…) et n'est peut-être recueilli que de Dieu, car notre passé nous devient perpétuellement étranger. Notre monade peut être prodigieusement influencée par les autres, mais elle n'en demeure pas moins impénétrable dans son centre, et nous mêmes restons (…) à l'extérieur de notre mystère. Le milieu de notre conscience est inconscient comme le noyau du soleil est obscur 119 .Mais dans ces ténèbres, comme par trouées, Amiel aperçoit de la lumière ; si le noyau du soleil est obscur, on peut aussi entrevoir « des soleils dans les abîmes » de l'âme 120 . De ce « côté nocturne de la conscience » 121 émergent des « vibrations inconnues » 122 : l'écriture, à mi-chemin entre oraison méditative et expansion lyrique, est semblable au rayon de lune que contemple le diariste -« comme une sonde lumineuse jetée dans le115 Jean Mesnard, Les Pensées dePascal, Paris, SEDES, 1976, pp.344-345.

	Cet incompréhensible ne peut s'éclairer qu'à la lumière du mystère : « sans ce L'anatomie de l'âme est donc emplie d'écueils, comme l'ont montré les moralistes de mystère le plus incompréhensible de tous nous sommes incompréhensibles à nous-Port-Royal, et en particulier Saint-Cyran, chez qui l'on retrouve une même défiance face
	78 S 681 88 Béatrice Guion, art cit, p.46 94 25 mars 68
	79 S 163 89 S 514 95 Amiel Lettre à Charles Heim, 1 er avril 1851, Correspondance, p.271
	80 S 681 81 S 662 90 S 753 91 43 Philippe Sellier, Port-Royal et la littérature, I, Pascal, Paris, Champion, 1999. Cf Confessions, 96 6 mars 1872 97 23 avril 1872 98 20 septembre 1866 99 S 225 117 S 195 118 18 août 1859 119 27 octobre 1856 100 S 105 ; voir Hélène Michon, « 116 1 er décembre 1872 120 20 octobre 1854
	121 3 janvier 1871
	122 1 er décembre 1872

82

Cf Hall Bjornstad, Créature sans créateur. Pour une anthropologie baroque dans les Pensées de Pascal, Presses de l'Université de Laval, 2010, p.57 83 5 octobre 1869

84

Voir Jean Rousset, art.cit., p.210.

85

S 240 mêmes terrifiée ou de l'interrogation anxieuse : Quelle chimère est-ce donc que l'homme, quelle nouveauté, quel monstre, quel chaos, quel sujet de contradictions, quel prodige (…). Qui démêlera cet embrouillement ? 93 . On retrouve chez Amiel cette même stupeur interrogative qui prend la forme d'un dialogue intérieur sans cesse relancé par des contradictions inextricables : Du reste, qui ne se contredit pas ? Toi-même surtout, « monstre incompréhensible », comme dirait Pascal. Es-tu logique, égal, invariable, 86 II, 10, concl : « Qui peut débrouiller cette confusion et ce chaos ? Qui peut développer tant de plis et de replis ? » 92 cf Hélène Michon, « L'irreprésentable dans les Pensées de Pascal », Revue d'Histoire littéraire de la France, 2002, vol 102, p.33 93 S 164 impassible ? L'ennui est l'héritier universel de tous nos désirs. Le gouffre intérieur où toutes nos illusions aboutissent (…) Vanité des vanités, tout est vanité 98 . Il y a donc quelque chose d'à la fois fascinant et dangereux dans le fait de sonder notre âme et de mettre à nu notre vanité. Si Pascal dénonçait le besoin fondamental de divertissement, il mettait en garde contre la connaissance de soi hors de la charité : « La connaissance de sa récit de ses errances présenté comme un enfermement dans la faute, comme une complaisance morbide -avant de relater dans son journal les affres de cette culpabilité d'écrire… En effet, « le moi est haïssable, comme vanité ; mais il est le plus intéressant des phénomènes et le plus attachant des spectacles » 113 .

L'expression « monstre incompréhensible » citée à de nombreuses reprises fait partie du fragment pascalien sur la réversibilité, sur le renversement du pour au contre, sur la coincidentia oppositorum : c'est ce renversement permanent de la misère à la grandeur, de la grandeur à la misère que retrouve Amiel. Si le gouffre qu'il découvre en lui est parfois assimilé par le diariste, comme chez Pascal, à l'abîme du péché, il est aussi, par

Lettres inédites de Jean Duvergier de Hauranne, « Lettre LV », cité in Béatrice Guion, « De l'abandon à la méditation : représentations de l'espace intérieur à Port-Royal », Etudeslittéraires, vol.34, n°1-2, 2002, p.47.

Voir Denis Moreau. Malebranche. Une philosophie de l'expérience.Paris, Vrin, 2004, p.95