The physicist, who has motor neurone disease (MND) gives a moving insight into his thoughts on the matter in a forthcoming interview with Dara O’Briain on BBC One.
In comments reported by The Telegraph, Prof Hawking told O’Briain, who himself as a degree in theoretical physics: “To keep someone alive against their wishes is the ultimate indignity.
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Professor Stephen Hawking has revealed he would consider assisted suicide
“I would consider assisted suicide only if I were in great pain or felt I had nothing more to contribute but was just a burden to those around me.”
However the 73-year-old added: “But I’m damned if I’m going to die before I have unravelled more of the universe.”
Hawking has previously spoken out in support of assisted suicide for people suffering from terminal diseases.
Prof Hawking says he misses being able to play with his children physically
He said: "I think those who have a terminal illness and are in great pain should have the right to choose to end their lives and those who help them should be free from prosecution.
"But there must be safeguards that the person concerned genuinely wants to end their life and they are not being pressurised into it or have it done without their knowledge or consent, as would have been the case with me."
In his latest interview, Hawking also talked of the isolation his condition sometimes leads to.
Stephen Hawkings Most Provocative Quotes
(01 of11)
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"Women. They are a complete mystery."-- Stephen Hawking's response when asked by New Scientist what he thinks about most during the day (credit:Getty Images)
(02 of11)
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"The human race is just a chemical scum on a moderate-sized planet, orbiting around a very average star in the outer suburb of one among a hundred billion galaxies. We are so insignificant that I can't believe the whole universe exists for our benefit. That would be like saying that you would disappear if I closed my eyes."-- Stephen Hawking in "Reality on the Rocks" TV series (credit:AP)
(03 of11)
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"If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when Columbus landed in America, which didn't turn out well for the Native Americans... We only have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn't want to meet."-- Hawking in "Into The Universe with Stephen Hawking" TV series (credit:Getty Images)
(04 of11)
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"I have no idea. People who boast about their I.Q. are losers."-- Hawking's response when asked by The New York Times about his I.Q. (credit:Getty Images)
(05 of11)
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"Yeah, well, there are some people who spend an awful lot of time talking about the interpretation of quantum mechanics. My attitude -- I would paraphrase Goering -- is that when I hear of Schrödinger's cat, I reach for my gun."-- Hawking in the book "The Whole Shebang" (credit:AP)
(06 of11)
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"I have noticed that even people who claim everything is predetermined and that we can do nothing to change it, look before they cross the road."-- Hawking in his book "Black Holes and Baby Universes and Other Essays" (credit:Wikimedia Commons: NASA)
(07 of11)
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"What I have done is to show that it is possible for the way the universe began to be determined by the laws of science. In that case, it would not be necessary to appeal to God to decide how the universe began. This doesn't prove that there is no God, only that God is not necessary."-- Hawking in newsmagazine Der Spiegel (credit:Getty Images)
(08 of11)
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"The downside of my celebrity is that I cannot go anywhere in the world without being recognized. It is not enough for me to wear dark sunglasses and a wig. The wheelchair gives me away."-- Hawking on StarTrek.com (credit:AP)
(09 of11)
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"We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star. But we can understand the universe. That makes us something very special."-- Hawking in newsmagazine Der Spiegel (credit:Getty Images)
(10 of11)
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"I don't think the human race will survive the next thousand years, unless we spread into space. There are too many accidents that can befall life on a single planet. But I'm an optimist. We will reach out to the stars."-- Hawking in the Daily Telegraph (credit:AP)
(11 of11)
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"Mankind's greatest achievements have come about by talking, and its greatest failures by not talking. It doesn't have to be like this. Our greatest hopes could become reality in the future. With the technology at our disposal, the possibilities are unbounded. All we need to do is make sure we keep talking."-- Hawking in a British Telecom advertisement (credit:AP)
He told O’Briain: “At times I get very lonely because people are afraid to talk to me or don’t wait for me to write a response.
“I’m shy and tired and times. I find it difficult to talk to people I don’t know.”
When asked what he missed about being able-bodied, he replied: “I would like to be able to swim again. When my children were young, I missed not being able to play with them physically.”
Prof Hawking was diagnosed with his disabling and incurable condition aged 21 and told that he had just two or three years to live.
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Prof Hawking photographed in Princeton, New Jersey in 1979
Following a bout of pneumonia in 1985, he was placed on a life support machine which his first wife, Jane Hawking, had the option to switch off.
Recovering from the disease, Prof Hawking went on to complete his popular science best-seller A Brief History of Time, which sold more than 10 million copies worldwide.
Only 5% of people with the kind of MND he has - called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig's disease - survive for more than a decade after diagnosis.
Referring to euthanasia in 2006, he said: ''The victim should have the right to end his life, if he wants. But I think it would be a great mistake.
"However bad life may seem, there is always something you can do, and succeed at. While there's life, there is hope.''
The full interview “Dara O’Briain meets Stephen Hawking” will be broadcast on BBC One on 16 June at 22.35.
Stephen Hawking's Life In Science
(01 of17)
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British theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, Cambridge in January 1993. Photo: David Montgomery/Getty Images
(02 of17)
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Cast member actress Jane Fonda (who portrays a Musicologist with ALS) talks with Physicist Stephen Hawking backstage after a preview performance of '33 Variations' Los Angeles, California in February 2011. Photo: Ryan Miller/Getty Images
(03 of17)
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Cellist Yo-Yo Ma and Physicist Stephen Hawking attend the 2010 World Science Festival Opening Night Gala at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Centre in New York on 02 June 2010. Photo: Wireimage
(04 of17)
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U.S. President Barack Obama presents the Medal of Freedom to physicist Stephen Hawking during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in 2009. Obama presented the medal, the highest civilian honor. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
(05 of17)
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Dr. Stephen Hawking, professor of mathematics at the University of Cambridge, and his daughter Lucy Hawking at George Washington University's Morton Auditorium in Washington, DC in 2008. Dr. Hawking gave a speech entitled 'Why we should go into space'. Photo: George Washington University/Getty Images
(06 of17)
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South Africa former President Nelson Mandela meets with British scientist Professor Stephen Hawking in Johannesburg in 2008. Photo: AFP/Getty Images
(07 of17)
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Physicist Stephen Hawking experiences a zero-weight moment during a flight on a Zero Gravity jet above Orlando, Florida in 2007. Photo: PA
(08 of17)
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Queen Elizabeth ll meets professor Stephen Hawking during a reception at Buckingham Palace to mark the importance of British Science in 2006. Photo: Anwar Hussein Collection/Getty Images
(09 of17)
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Professor Stephen Hawking and his second wife Elaine Mason arrive at the European Premiere of 'Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events' at the Empire Leicester Square, London in 2004. Photo: Dave Hogan/Getty Images
(10 of17)
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Physicist Stephen Hawking smiles during a symposium in honor of his 60th birthday at the University of Cambridge on 11 January 2002. Hawking is the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics, a post once held by Sir Isaac Newton. Photo: Sion Touhig/Getty Images
(11 of17)
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Professor Stephen Hawking,the leading theoretical physicists, attended by his wife Elaine before delivering a lecture on 'Science in the Future' to a packed auditorium on on 14 January 2001 in Bombay. Photo: AFP/Getty Images
(12 of17)
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US President Bill Clinton and Professor Stephen Hawking watch a scene from 'Star Trek the Next Generation', during a 'Millennium Evening' at the White House in 1998. Theoretical physicist Hawking talked about the future of science during the live telecast with the Clintons. Photo: AFP/Getty Images
(13 of17)
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Theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking (second left) makes a guest appearance on Star Trek; The Next Generation in 1993. The episode features a scene in which the character Data participates in a poker game with a group of brilliant scientific figures consisting of Hawking, Einstein, and Newton. Photo: Julie Markes/AP
(14 of17)
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Microsoft President Bill Gates meets Professor Stephen Hawking on a visit to Cambridge University in 1997. Photo: AFP/Getty Images
(15 of17)
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British physicist Professor Stephen Hawking with his first wife Jane Hawking in 1990. Photo: David Montgomery/Getty Images
(16 of17)
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Famed jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald (back right) applauds renowned theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, as he given an honorary degree, Doctor of Science, at the 339th Harvard University commencemen in 1990. Photo: Charles Krupa/AP
(17 of17)
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British theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking with student Chris Hull in Cambridge, January 1985. Photo: David Montgomery/Getty Images