What is Insinuatio: the Roundabout Route to an Argument
Insinuatio. A big Latin word. You can probably tell it has something to do with “insinuate”. You may be shocked to learn that you’ve probably already seen an insinuatio in action. Maybe you’ve even used one without knowing it.
Insinuatio is a rhetorical technique. The thing about rhetoric is that it’s just good speaking. People speak well even if they don’t know what the parts of good speaking are called.
Insinuatio is rightly named. The speaker does not launch straight into their argument; they insinuate it. Say that you have a speech, or a blog, or you’re just having a conversation, and you want to argue X. You don’t want to start with X, though. Before you argue X, you say Y. From Y, you slowly turn the argument to X.
This seems like time-wasting. Why not just say X?
Insinuatio is used quite a lot in persuasive writing. Say that X is controversial. If you just argue X, your audience will scoff without engaging with your argument. Instead, you talk about Y, which is less controversial. Once you have your audience nodding along to Y, spring X on them. “Ah! If you agree with Y, surely you must then agree with X.”
Peter Singer does this in the article “A life to save: direct action on poverty”. His X is that you must give most of your money to charity. That’s a hard sell.
He begins with Y. A child is drowning in front of you. You can save the child but doing so will ruin your expensive shoes. You should ruin your shoes because a child’s life is worth far more than any set of shoes. Now, Singer switches to X. Don’t buy the expensive shoes in the first place. Give the money to a charity that will save the lives of many children with that money.
It may sound like insinuatio is just deception. You use it to lure your audience in and then spring your real argument. But insinuatio can also be used for aesthetic and thematic reasons.
Harris Brewis’ video essay “Halcyon Dreams: The Legacy of Dragon’s Lair” is about the video game Dragon’s Lair, about who exactly created it. The game’s ads, posters, media coverage, and even popular reputation give the already famous animation director Don Bluth majority credit for the game. While Bluth was important, just as important is the always obscure Rick Dyer. Brewis argues that we often falsely credit one man for collaborations.
Brewis begins the video, however, by talking about Stonehenge. Who created it? In times past, some said Merlin alone made it, attributing to one man a massive, surely collaborative creation.
With this use of insinuatio, Brewis broadens the scope of his video beyond this 80s video game. He makes you realise his central theme extends as far back as Stonehenge.
I’ve explained insinuatio so you can better notice it. And when you notice it, you can better understand it. And when you understand it, you can better use it for yourself.
