新R会话中运行ggplot2的facet_wrap报错：`predicate`必须是闭包或函数指针

Hey there, let's figure out this frustrating error you're hitting with ggplot2's facet_wrap!

The Problem Recap #

You're running this code in a fresh R session:

library(ggplot2)
ggplot(mtcars, aes(mpg, wt)) + geom_point() + facet_wrap( ~ cyl)

And getting this confusing error:

Error: `predicate` must be a closure or function pointer

Your R environment details:

R version 3.4.2 (2017-09-28)
Platform: x86_64-w64-mingw32/x64 (64-bit)
Running under: Windows >= 8 x64 (build 9200)
Matrix products: default
locale:
[1] LC_COLLATE=English_United States.1252 LC_CTYPE=English_United States.1252 LC_MONETARY=English_United States.1252

You also confirmed the session is completely empty (ls() returns character(0)).

Why This Is Happening #

The root cause here is version incompatibility: Your R version (3.4.2, released back in 2017) is extremely outdated, and modern versions of ggplot2 no longer support it. That weird error message is just a side effect of this mismatch—newer ggplot2 functions rely on features that aren't present in your old R install.

Fixes to Try #

Let's go through solutions from quickest to most sustainable:

1. Install a ggplot2 Version That Works With R 3.4.2

You'll need to grab an older, compatible release of ggplot2. Version 2.2.1 is known to play nice with R 3.4.x. Here's how:

• First, install the devtools package if you don't have it yet:

  install.packages("devtools")
  

• Then use devtools to install the specific ggplot2 version:

  library(devtools)
  install_version("ggplot2", version = "2.2.1", repos = "http://cran.us.r-project.org")
  

Restart your R session after installing, then run your original code again—it should work.

2. Reinstall ggplot2 and Its Dependencies

If the first fix doesn't stick, it's possible your initial ggplot2 install was corrupted. Uninstall it first, then reinstall the compatible version:

remove.packages("ggplot2")
# Repeat the install_version step from above

3. Upgrade Your R Version (Highly Recommended)

R 3.4.2 is over 6 years old at this point—most modern R packages have dropped support for it. Upgrading to a newer R version (like the latest 4.x release) will let you use the latest ggplot2 and avoid these compatibility headaches entirely. Once you upgrade, just run:

install.packages("ggplot2")

And your original code will work as expected.

内容的提问来源于stack exchange，提问作者user3550273