Phillips has authored/co-authored eleven books,[3] including a three-volume translation of the Tattva-cintā-maṇi, Yoga, Karma, and Rebirth: A Brief History and Philosophy,[4] and Epistemology in Classical India: The Knowledge Sources of the Nyāya School.

[1] Phillips served on the executive committee of the Center for Asian Studies of the University of Texas at Austin in 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, and 1987, and concurrently held the position of co-director of the Sanskrit Database Project from 1987 to 1988.

William Yeoman noted that the book is structured "in an accessible, lively, and engaging yet intellectually rigorous way,"[10] while Matthew Dasti commented, "I think that philosophically inquisitive and thoughtful readers will benefit from reading (and rereading).

"[16] In 2020, Phillips published in three volumes the first complete translation of the monumental Tattva-cintā-maṇi of Gaṅgeśa, which dominated philosophic thought in India from the fourteenth century to the modern era.

Ananda Vaidya described it is a "masterful translation" of a text that "rivals the work of Immanuel Kant in terms of its depth and significance,"[17] and Michael Williams wrote in the same roundtable discussion, "Phillips presents a perspicuous introduction to the theory of inference, which is necessary to understanding Gaṅgeśa’s work, which constantly employs inferential arguments,"[18] while Eberhard Guhe called it "a landmark achievement.

"[19] In 2021, a brief work was published on Vedāntic and Naiyāyika natural theology, co-authored with Nirmalya Guha and Dasti, titled God and the World’s Arrangement, a volume praised by PhilPapers for its careful selection and student-focused annotations,[20] with Swami Narasimhananda commending its "elegant" translations in modern English idioms, marked the beginning of his latest research focus on Vedānta.