Hi! This code compiles fine:

{-# LANGUAGE MultiParamTypeClasses, FunctionalDependencies, FlexibleInstances,
  UndecidableInstances, FlexibleContexts, EmptyDataDecls, ScopedTypeVariables,
  TypeOperators, TypeSynonymInstances, TypeFamilies #-}
class Sel a s b where
  type Res a s b :: *

instance Sel a s b where
  type Res a s b = (s -> (b,s))

instance Sel a s (b->(c,a)) where
  type Res a s (b->(c,a)) = (b -> s -> (c,s))

but as soon as I add the R predicate ghc fails:

{-# LANGUAGE MultiParamTypeClasses, FunctionalDependencies, FlexibleInstances,
  UndecidableInstances, FlexibleContexts, EmptyDataDecls, ScopedTypeVariables,
  TypeOperators, TypeSynonymInstances, TypeFamilies #-}
class Sel a s b where
  type Res a s b :: *

instance Sel a s b where
  type Res a s b = (s -> (b,s))

class R a where
  type Rec a :: *
  cons :: a -> Rec a
  elim :: Rec a -> a
instance Sel a s (b->(c,Rec a)) where
  type Res a s (b->(c,Rec a)) = (b -> s -> (c,s))

complaining that:

    Illegal type synonym family application in instance:
        b -> (c, Rec a)
    In the instance declaration for `Sel a s (b -> (c, Rec a))'

what does it mean and (most importantly) how do I fix it?

Thanks