I know you asked about "good" implying skill, but your example of Tolkien made me think of Hume's "Of the Standard of Taste"[0] Not the lightest reading, but v

I know you asked about "good" implying skill, but your example of Tolkien made me think of Hume's "Of the Standard of Taste"[0] Not the lightest reading, but very worth the effort. TL;DR - taste is something that can be more refined or less refined. We have some reasons to believe that more refined tastes are 'better' than less refined tastes (people who have learned to appreciate more sophisticated tastes never want to 'go back' even though they now have fewer opportunities for enjoyment). Obviously it's very controversial and you can make the argument that it's just snobbery, but I think Hume gets at something. [0] https://web.csulb.edu/~jvancamp/361r15.html https://web.csulb.edu/~jvancamp/361r15.html