Functionalism has an important place in modern sociology and was initially influenced by Durkheim’s works in sociology in the s19th century. In other words, functionalism adopted a positivist social science mentality while examining social life. Developed in the 20th century in social anthropology by A.R. Radcliffe-Brown (18811955) and Bronislaw Malinowski (1884-1942), functionalism was later improved in American sociology especially by Talcott Parsons and Robert K. Merton.
Functionalism deals with society as a system consisting of interrelated pieces. At this point, we should remember that Durkheim also explained society through its similarities to a biological entity. Functionalism in modern sociology deals with society as a system based on self-regulation, which implies that society has a natural intuition to protect itself and have a balance. In other words, self-regulation enables societies to maintain its balance and operations by regulating its institutions in response to changes in the environment. Therefore, the correct option is D.